I haven't posted in a couple of days but it's for a very good reason. A few days ago I floated the idea of doing a scorecard of sorts where I would make a list of cable shows that are renewed, canceled or undecided. The list would not contain shows from every network and it is my hope (and probably best course of action) to do it monthly since it's much easier to keep track of updates as they come in.


So I've spent the last 2 days working on this list and some things come to me...

1. It's long as hell

2. It's tedious to stick to the guidelines I've set with that list but since I am a stickler for it I will continue to stick with my guidelines

3. It's long as hell and I didn't include every network (I basically only included shows where I have some idea of what their ratings look like or I know I would see their ratings on a regular basis)

4. It's long as hell and there were plenty of shows I left out

5. It's so long that it's looking like it will at least be a 5-6 part post (at least this first one should be. Every one after this one should be relatively short)

6. I need to set some ground rules now so you know exactly what I mean when I say certain things (Think of it as a mini-glossary)

Burnoff- A marathon of new episodes of a television show with the intention of getting the show off the schedule as quickly as possible. This is a sign of a de facto cancellation.

Casting Call- A statement either from a TV network or a production company announcing the intent to cast individuals for a show (This is used for shows that haven't been picked up and might never be but when it is used in the case of an existing reality show, it's a de facto renewal. It may be sent in the form of a press release but not always) [Example]

Cover picture (see example above)- The pictures I use are not an indication of favoritism. The pictures I use for most of my TV related posts are what I have at the time of the post because I am way too damn lazy to spend 30 minutes looking through pictures I don't care for. However the picture will always be related to something in the post.

De facto cancellation- When a TV network moves, burns off or stays silent (my official silence timetable is 8 months after the finale) on a television show because they have no intention of officially saying the show is canceled.

Official network statement- A short blurb directly from a television network to an unaffiliated 3rd party site regarding the fate of a show (this typically happens with cancelations) [Example]

Press release- A longer, more detailed network statement with the intent of being distributed to unaffiliated 3rd party websites (used for renewals, final season announcements, PR ratings spin, and new pilot or series pickups) [Example]

Primetime- The time period between 8pm and 11pm Eastern Time where shows are aired (The only deviation from this is Sundays for broadcast networks where primetime is 7-11pm Eastern Time). Shows that do not air within this 3 hour block are considered to be outside of primetime and this is important because some cable shows get moved outside of this block because they have low ratings and moving it would help preserve the network's primetime average.

Hopefully I get around to posting the whole list in all of its glory sometime tomorrow.