Television trends and patterns continue to evolve. For example, not long ago situation comedies dominated the most watched programs on television. Each network had at least one night a week (and sometimes more) for a “made for TV movie”, you could count on a blockbuster mini-series or two to air during the sweeps, and you could watch a top rated show on either a Friday or Saturday night. Of course today, none of these facts are true. Another soon to be fond network television memory seems to be a top rated and cutting edge drama running at ten o’clock to anchor that evening’s program lineup.

Between 1979 and 2009, many high profile and critically acclaimed dramas could be counted on to run at 10PM. In fact, for 21 consecutive years beginning in 1979 the Emmy Award for Best Drama went to a program airing at 10PM on one of the three networks. In the past decade however, not one 10PM program on broadcast TV was an Emmy winner. With ER and Boston Legal stopping production in 2009, it appears that after three decades, the Golden Age of 10PM dramas has, at last, come to an end on network TV.

Since it fell outside of the so-called “family hour”, the broadcast networks could focus on more adult themed content at 10PM. For example, Hill Street Blues was noted for its grittiness in working in a seedy inner city police precinct. Cagney & Lacey, another police drama, was critically acclaimed for depicting the difficulties women confronted in the workforce and their home life. NYPD Blue broke barriers for having partial nudity and using language not typically heard on broadcast television. The challenges and self indulgences of young adults were effectively chronicled with thirtysomething. The first bisexual TV character was depicted on L.A. Law, she also kissed a female colleague on the lips, another television first. The prime time “soap opera” Dallas introduced viewers to the season ending cliffhanger with “Who Shot JR?.” Throughout the summer of 1980, the nation was transfixed on who the would-be assassin was. The culprit was revealed in an episode watched by 83 million people (on a Friday night no less) at 10PM. The last ratings titan at 10PM was ER which after 15 years ceased production in 2009. ER was the last top rated show to air at 10PM a decade ago. Other cutting edge and acclaimed series that aired primarily at 10PM in the 1980’s or 1990’s were Twin Peaks, Miami Vice, Northern Exposure, Lou Grant, China Beach, St. Elsewhere, Picket Fences and The Practice. These dramas could be found on any given night.

In recent years however, while dramas (and reality shows) dominate in ratings, these programs are not airing at earlier than 10PM. For example, a large majority of the top rated shows in 2008-09 such as American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, NCIS, CSI, 60 Minutes, Desperate Housewives, Survivor, Grey’s Anatomy, Criminal Minds & The Mentalist all aired at either 8PM or 9PM. Of the four 10PM shows that cracked the top 20 only two, CSI: Miami and CSI: NY, are returning as Without a Trace and Eleventh Hour were both cancelled. Other critically acclaimed dramas such as Lost, House, 24, Law & Order, Fringe and Heroes are now seen at an earlier time period.

The difficulty in finding a hit program to run at 10PM is compounded with rising production costs for a one-hour drama. The cost to produce a single episode of a one-hour drama on network television is in the $2 to $3 million range. This prompted NBC to air The Jay Leno Show weeknights at 10PM, a program that is notably less costly to produce.

While 10PM has been slightly stronger this year with The Mentalist moving one hour later and The Good Wife starting out strong, there is another disturbing trend; the shows at 10PM have a much older audience profile. In fact, of the 19 programs that air 10PM this season, 17 of them have a median age above 50. Since advertisers pay a premium to reach younger viewers, advertising costs can be notably lower while production costs continue to rise.

Another reason for the loss in popularity at 10PM has been the impact that time shifting with DVR’s has had. A report from Nielsen on how DVR’s are changing the television landscape found that 10PM shows now not only compete against each other but also programs that air earlier that evening, and are played back at 10PM. The study found that over the course of one week, 53% of 8PM are played back in the same day, 42% of 9PM shows and only 27% of 10PM shows. After three days, 89% of all 8PM shows are played back, 87% of 9PM shows but only 82% of 10PM shows are watched. As television moves to a more “on-demand” and “TV Everywhere” environment, 10PM will be less and less important.

If one wants to watch cutting edge dramas at 10PM these days they can always turn to cable. They have been very aggressive in producing breakthrough dramas scheduled for 10PM. AMC airs both their Emmy Award winning dramas Mad Men and Breaking Bad at 10PM. FX airs many of its gritty and original programs at 10PM such as Damages, Nip/Tuck, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Rescue Me and Sons of Anarchy. Previously FX had aired its cutting edge police drama The Shield at 10PM. Cable’s top rated network USA, has also used 10PM to run some of cable’s highest rated shows Psych, Royal Pains and In Plain Sight. TNT has also used 10PM for Raising the Bar, Dark Blue and Leverage. Lifetime’s top rated original series Army Wives is seen at 10PM.

Moreover, many cable originals have been able to cast familiar actors for their series. There are less episodes to produce each year allowing cast members to work on other projects such as movies and plays. Also, the chances of getting cancelled mid-season are remote, allowing them to avoid the indignity of getting axed mid-year. On the other hand, many cable dramas at 10PM suffer from the same older audience profile that the broadcasters at 10PM face.

The 10PM time period on cable is not just limited to provocative dramas but also other formats. At 10PM viewers can watch reality shows like Project Runway on Lifetime, Real Housewives on Bravo or Real World on MTV. Even the popular and risqué South Park on Comedy Central is on at 10PM.

Many of television program’s shock value have migrated to pay cable; they are not concerned with either FCC regulators or advertisers. In the past decade, both HBO and Showtime have produced original (and Award winning) series that have become ingrained in pop culture. Although they may not all air at 10PM, their content and language has pushed the envelope even further than any broadcast television can.

With the networks becoming more timid at 10PM, (perhaps in response to the FCC crackdown stemming from the “Wardrobe Malfunction”), the continued aggressiveness of cable networks and more and more viewers time shifting, perhaps Fox had the right idea all along when they began rolling out their prime time schedule. The most watched network among Adults 18-49 for the past few seasons has never programmed at 10PM when they began to roll out their schedule 20 years ago, opting to give the last hour of prime time to their affiliates. Based upon current trends can the three other networks be far behind?

badgate Television