SardonicallyIrrelevant wrote:
Interesting post. Thanks. I think the show is better suited for cable anyhow. Maybe ABC Family would take it. They haven't had a truly family oriented show in years anyhow, and it could draw in a new audience.
Hmm, I can't really see The Mole as anything other than a primetime show on one of the big 4 networks. I could see a spin-off like "The Mole Junior" working well on ABC Family, where contestants are between the ages of 13-16. This was recently done in the Netherlands after 8 seasons of the original and celebrity versions of the show.
My big gripe with ABC is that, time and time again, they seem to mishandle the show, regardless of who is in charge. Mole 1 (2001) was regarded as a success (although I can't comment on the amount of advertising done for it). Mole 2 (2001 & 2002) was pulled after 9/11 and returned the following summer, with people claiming that advertising for the summer comeback was weak. Mole 3 - Celebrity Hawaii (2003) came out of nowhere after ABC announced in the summer of 2002 that the show would return with non-celebrity contestants. Mole 4 - Celebrity Yucatan (2004) followed a year later and continued to build on the decent ratings of the show, even winning an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement for Enhanced Television. After that, ABC inexplicably cancelled the show, a move that other network execs found baffling. Mole 5 (2008) returned after a long hiatus with 1-second "flash teasers" that began two months prior to the show's premiere and a Monday 10pm timeslot was announced. The show's premiere date was bumped from May 26th to June 2nd one month prior to the premiere. After a ratings flop, one of ABC's top execs blamed the lack of ratings on the pre-premiere marketing strategy used. To top this all off, the finale went up against the Olympics (as a result of postponing one of the episodes to accommodate a 3-hour Bachelorette finale). To make your head hurt even more from reading this anti-logic, some of ABC's top execs have publicly stated their love for the show, yet they continue to mishandle it. The Mole is the kind of reality show that could serve as a flagship program for ABC, along with Dancing with the Stars. Why they continue to treat it as an afterthought is beyond me.
