When CBS last had the Super Bowl three years ago (won by my Indianapolis Colts by the way), they chose to fill the coveted slot after the game with the crime drama Criminal Minds. This was done instead of airing an episode of the then up and coming How I Met Your Mother that was about the Super Bowl or an episode of the (inexplicably) popular Two and a Half Men. CBS wanted to give a shot in the arm to their exceedingly average young show, which they did. They pulled in 26.3 million viewers, double the average for the show. They hadn’t done as well as the year before, when Sad Doctors Grey’s Anatomy pulled in 34 million, but that was an exception to the rule. “26 million? No one’s gonna top that for a while!” CBS thought as they cheered and continued to crown themselves the most watched network despite showing different iterations of the same show over and over again (that would be C.S.I.).
But then, their pals over at Fox and then NBC had the brilliant idea to put on a popular show on their network after the game. Both House and The Office brought in over 29 million viewers each. Both shows got good reviews. CBS felt a little bad. How could two really popular shows do better than one that they wanted to be popular? They’d show them! When they got the Super Bowl again, they’d pick the best show in their arsenal and break Sad Doctors record!
That leads us to today when the network announced Super Bowl XLIV would be followed by…a new reality show? Yes, apparently CBS thinks it’s 2000, when Survivor‘s post-Super Bowl premier of 15 million viewers was considered a break away hit. Well, it it at least a better show than Survior? Probably not. It’s called Undercover Boss, and it features CEOs taking entry level positions at their own companies. And the first episode is about an executive at a waste management company dealing with sewage. This sounds like a winner.
What’s the deal CBS? You have a critically acclaimed hit in How I Met Your Mother which has seen its numbers rising over the last few seasons. A post-Super Bowl episode would have gone a long way toward making it more popular. You could have even shown an episode of your breakout hit, Nerds! The Big Bang Theory which would have guaranteed a big audience. Instead you’re going with a crappy reality show? That’s probably a good call. I think people will be tired after this game and just want to go to bed anyway. Thanks for giving us a good reason to turn off our TVs and not stay up too late.
Michael
ulyssesworkman