Matt Roush talks about Supernatural's chances on what's going to be the toughest hour on American TV, Thursdays 9 pm/ET.
Question: I find the 9 pm/ET time slot on Thursdays this fall very interesting. The race for winner is between Grey's Anatomy and CSI, but I really don't know who's going to come up on top. Nor do I care that much. What I find interesting is the effect these two shows will have on the others in the time slot. Deal or No Deal has a loyal audience that tunes in two to three times a week to watch a boring show — but hey, it pulls in the ratings and the right demos. What do you think Deal's effect will be on Grey's and CSI? Will both Grey's and CSI succeed, albeit with lower ratings, or will they cannibalize each other? If so, would that leave a greater chance for Supernatural and The O.C.? I think the loser for the time slot will probably be one of the two latter shows. What's your opinion? — Sonya
Matt Roush: This is the killer hour of the entire week, that's for sure. ABC moving Grey's Anatomy to this critically pivotal and financially lucrative night is one of the potential game-changers of the season. I'm not very gifted at ratings predictions, but I would bet there's room for CSI and Grey's to share the time period, though the numbers for both will be depressed a bit from what either could achieve against lesser competition, with (my guess) CSI outranking Grey's in total viewers, while Grey's wins in the key demos. The addiction to the witless Deal or No Deal completely escapes me, but it's a low-risk alternative, and the Thursday installment will probably perform fine, if not spectacularly. Where this leaves the rest? In the dust. The expectations for Supernatural are really only to hold on to a fair amount of the Smallville lead-in, and that it will probably do. From my mail, I know Supernatural has a solid, loyal fan base that CW will be happy to attract on Thursdays, and it's a fun, creepy show that deserves to stick around a while. The real loser in all of this is likely to be The O.C., which didn't exactly build momentum last season and is widely thought to be on its way out after this year. Unless, of course, the show's revamp in the wake of Marissa's death pays off. Which I kind of doubt.
Source: Ask Matt Roush, TV Guide.