Fox's smutty and wildly hyped "Skin" is bombing, along with most of the rest of the new television season, and Tinseltown execs just can't figure out why.
Gee, why wouldn't people want to see a TV version of "Romeo and Juliet" set in the porn industry, a story where the pornographer is depicted as the ideal family man and the prosecutor is a villain? Obviously they have better taste.
Only 6.3 million people in the entire nation watched the debut of "Skin," which scored a dismal 2.7 rating in the prized demographic of adult viewers under 50.
The plunge in TV viewers is unprecedented, the New York Times reported today. Old - and we do mean old - favorites such as NBC's "ER" and "Friends" are shedding viewers even faster than the Democrat party is losing voters.
Fox's "Joe Millionaire" attracted only 6.8 million viewers Monday, far below its peak of 40 million.
Men between 18 and 24 are especially uninterested in the boob tube. Viewership in this group has plunged 20 percent in a year.
"Frankly, what we're seeing strains credulity," said Alan Wurtzel, the president of research for NBC.
Believe it. Here's a shocking idea: If you offer a decent program, people might watch it. Hollywood big shots ought to note that one of the season's few successes, "Joan of Arcadia," doesn't treat religious faith with the usual contempt displayed by the Left Coast.
Editor's note:
James Hirsen’s "Tales from the Left Coast" - Find out the real story behind Mel Gibson’s "The Passion," and more!
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Media Bias
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