Secrets to Saving Underrated Television Shows Revealed

Writing a letter isn’t the best way to save a failing television show you love, but that doesn’t mean the situation is hopeless.

Craig Engler, general manager and senior vice president of Syfy Digital, wants you to know exactly how you can save your favorite television shows that might be on their way out. Working at Syfy, which has saved a show here and there, he’s got the secrets we need. Primarily, he tells us that everything we think is right, is wrong.

Writing letters is great, but actually, it’s really not. Everybody writes letters about everything, he says in a great article on Boing Boing: “EVERY canceled show has a write-in campaign, often accompanied by some clever item…Jericho fans sent peanuts, Lexx fans sent dragonflies, etc. It’s so pervasive that it’s become background noise.” Also, stop sending all that weird crap: “Right now there are containers of Fluff in the kitchen of our sibling network USA because fans are protesting the fact that Vincent D’Onofrio is leaving Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” he reveals.

So put away that pen, and the pencil, and you’re going to have to return that case of Cool Whip. So how can you save your favorite shows? A strong offense is the best defense, or something. A preemptive attack is the best way to go. If you like a show, make it known, and make it known in a huge way. As Engler says, “it’s going to take a few hundred thousand new viewers to make an impact,” so you’ve got to do a lot more than write an email or tell a friend about the show.

“Instead of talking to us, talk to the critics and TV bloggers out there who have the most readers and try to get THEM to talk about the show. Do something so unique that your “save the show” campaign gets covered on the homepage of CNN. Find a way to get Jon Stewart to joke about your campaign on his show. Use tools out there like Twitter and Facebook that let you reach people on a mass scale.”

Do it quickly too, because once a show is canceled, it’s just about too late. The actors have mostly moved on, and the sets may have been dismantled, making it a “HUGE financial hurdle” to get the show going again. According to Engler, you want to mount a “pre-save” campaign for any show you like that might not be doing as well as you’d hope.

I’m going to take his advice, but in the opposite direction. Far too many people watch this “Glee,” and it’s making me a little scared.

Source: Boing Boing