Why This Matters: Every creator hopes for a good, long run for their show, but a successful second season may be a series' toughest hurdle.
Killing Eve was perhaps the buzziest hit of 2018. The BBC America drama has Sandra Oh as a bored MI6 agent and Jodie Comer as a psychopathic-yet-stylish assassin, the two characters playing cat and mouse or cat and cat, as executive producer Phoebe Waller-Bridge has put it across the globe before their fateful interaction. It also had a wunderkind behind the camera in Waller-Bridge, a young British talent who'd made her name in comedy, thanks to Fleabag, before developing this taut thriller.
Killing Eve was a finalist for top drama at the 2019 Golden Globe Awards. It didn't win, but Oh, who co-hosted the Globes, did get best actress.
As season two of Killing Eve starts April 7, there's an exceedingly tall task at hand for the producers and stars: How to make the new season as compelling as the first, and avoid the dreaded sophomore slump that so many hot rookie shows have fallen victim to. Momentum in season two can be key to winning seasons three, four and beyond.
We're always cautious, but cautiously optimistic, David Madden, president of programming at BBC America parent AMC Networks and AMC Studios, said. We're hopeful Killing Eve is still on an upswing. We think it's still on an upswing.
Not a Freshman, Not All that Fresh
Also facing down the harrowing prospect of a sophomore slump is HBO dark comedy Barry, which was nominated for a best comedy Emmy last year. In a profile on star Bill Hader, The New Yorker detailed the sophomore slump, mentioning Netflix's Bloodline, Amazon's The Man in the High Castle and USA's Mr. Robot, among others, as examples.
You feel the media ecosystem's effect within the frame of the art: We have 10 hours to fill, and not enough ideas to fill it,' Matt Stone, creator of Comedy Central's South Park, explained. As a creator, you don't quite know why the first season worked, and you're trying to deconstruct the formula even as you're trying to surpass it.
The sophomore slump has long been a part of TV history. As the adage goes about novels or record albums, it too goes for television: You have 25 years to do the first, and six months to come up with the second. It is the buzziest shows, such as True Detective or Homeland, that seem to fall the farthest in season two. For its part, season one of True Detective averaged 11.9 million total viewers in 2014, while season two had 10.9 million a year later. Season three, which started Jan. 13, averaged 8.1 million the drop thanks to both a lackluster season two and the natural degradation of ratings.
Any time you put so much hype on the first season of a show, how can any show live up to that? Justin Spitzer, creator and executive producer of NBC comedy Superstore, said. Spitzer believes the sophomore slump is an issue more for dramas than comedies, noting that season two is often a golden year for comedies, after their characters have found their voices.
Rolling Stone TV critic Alan Sepinwall raised the same point in his article Five Reasons Why 2018 Has Been the Year of the TV Sophomore Slump last summer, putting dramas The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu), Luke Cage (Netflix) and Westworld (HBO), among others, on the slump list, and noting that comedies Atlanta (FX), One Day at a Time (Netflix) and The Good Place (NBC) excelled in season two. Dramas tend to be more plot-driven and tend to burn through story more quickly, he told B&C. Comedies are more built out of characters, he said, meaning many hit their stride in season two.
The robust ideas that earn dramas the green light are often hard to sustain after the first season. A lot of shows are pitched on concept a concept that has legs, said Mike Daniels, showrunner and executive producer on new NBC drama The Village. After you've burned your way through the first season, it's on you to reinvent it. It can be a really tricky thing.
Season one of a show often uses the whole of the novel it is adapted from, leaving the producers without their North Star for subsequent seasons. Netflix teen drama The End of the F***ing World, for example, relied on Charles Forsham's graphic novel for its first season. We shall see how the second season fares without that vital roadmap.
Showrunners Spread Thin
Rotten Tomatoes detailed its top 10 sophomore slump shows last summer, using the Tomatometer score an aggregation of critics' reviews to list the series with the biggest creative drop-off from season one to two. Among them are Netflix's 13 Reasons Why, Nat Geo's Genius and Marvel's Daredevil, which was canceled by Netflix.
13 Reasons Why got a 79% on the Tomatometer for season one and a 25% for season two.
This era of peak TV appears to have pushed more shows into the sophomore slump. With some 500 scripted series fighting for viewers' attention, many up-and-coming producers become rookie showrunners. Some have the skills to sustain a series for several seasons. Many do not. There's a greater sense of, something could go wrong when the resources are spread so thin, said Myles McNutt, assistant professor of communication at Old Dominion University and contributor to The AV Club.
McNutt noted how showrunners on cable and streaming shows don't always have the same long-term mindset for a series that their broadcast brethren do. A red-hot idea will get the green light, even if the idea doesn't play for season two and beyond.
You do a brilliant first season, and blow the doors off it, said David Caspe, executive producer of Showtime comedy Black Monday. After you've turned the plot over and over, it becomes harder to reboot.
Today's shows don't get the early ax the way that
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
26/04/2024
Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2024 kicks-off today with screenings in 5 theaters in Mexico City and the opening-night film, FRIDA, directed by Carla Guti rrez...
26/04/2024
[Editor's Note: This interview is part of a larger feature about the women d...
26/04/2024
Once again this year, SGL Carbon opened its doors to interested children and young people. On the occasion of the German Girls and Boys Day, which took place on...
26/04/2024
Orders1 of $5.5 billion; book-to-bill of 1.06x
Revenue of $5.2 billion, up 17%,...
26/04/2024
Five Considerations For Communications Modernization In The 21st Century
In the digital-enabled battlespace, the Joint Force needs to shoot, move and communica...
26/04/2024
CBS Sports has launched Champions League as a new, 24-hour streaming channel that will serve as the year-round destination for nonstop highlights of the UEFA ...
26/04/2024
Despite tough competition in the streaming space, Roku reported solid results in Q1 2024, beating revenue expectations, with total net revenue up 19% YoY to $88...
26/04/2024
LONDON AND TORONTO Pinewood Toronto Studios has appointed Sarah Farrell as general manager of the Studios in downtown Toronto....
26/04/2024
Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and...
26/04/2024
FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talen...
26/04/2024
Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted
Brie Clayton April 26, 2024
0 Comments
Picture Shop announced Chris Evans will lead Unscripte...
26/04/2024
Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024
0 Comments
By participating in this survey,...
26/04/2024
Toy maker Mattel said it is working with Samsung to launch its first free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels later this year....
26/04/2024
Trusted Media Brands (TMB) said it named Marty Moe as president....
26/04/2024
Ron Howard is the director on Jim Henson Idea Man, a documentary that premieres on Disney Plus May 31. Henson of course created Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big...
26/04/2024
The ice continues to melt under the regional sports network business as the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League have made a long-term deal to broadcast...
26/04/2024
Heading into the upfronts, Warner Bros. Discovery said it launched Olli, a first-party data platform advertiser can use for converged, targeted advertising camp...
26/04/2024
CBS has renewed the drama The Equalizer, which will see season five on in 2024-2025. Queen Latifah stars....
26/04/2024
The CW has entered into an exclusive multiyear broadcast partnership for the Miss USA Pageant and the Miss Teen USA Pageant. The 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air ...
26/04/2024
Fuse Media isn't mincing words in a campaign urging its young viewers to register and participate in the 2024 elections....
26/04/2024
Dead Boy Detectives, a series from Neil Gaiman about a detective agency staffed by ghosts, debuts on Netflix April 25. George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri are in t...
26/04/2024
The Story Collective has gradually repurposed the former Mortlake Brewery to include production offices, workshops and sound stages
By Matthew Corrigan
Publi...
26/04/2024
Perkett joins the company following a 25 year career in product management, product marketing, engineering and user experience (UX) across multiple industries
...
26/04/2024
Teradek, the industry leader in wireless video transmitters and receivers, announced today the launch of new Bolt 6 LT 750 and Bolt 6 Monitor Module 750 RX with...
26/04/2024
NEW YORK Amagi has appointed Richard Perkett chief product officer (CPO)....
26/04/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced the results of the 2024 NAB Radio and Television Board of Directors elections. The...
26/04/2024
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. & NEW YORK Mattel has announced a deal to launch its first three 24/7 free ad supported streaming (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus, Samsung...
26/04/2024
PORTLAND, Maine Viewers here can now receive the NextGen TV signals of five local stations with the launch of ATSC 3.0 service from host station WPFO, which is ...
26/04/2024
TORONTO Rogers Communications has signed a 10-year agreement with Comcast to bring the latest Xfinity products and technology to Canadians....
26/04/2024
Calrec is very pleased to announce the benefits of its highly flexible approach to customer service has been recognized with a third award for the Argo range. T...
26/04/2024
New Adobe Photoshop with Advanced Generative Fill and Generate Image Brings New ...
26/04/2024
Trends And Takeaways From NAB Show 2024
Melanie Ciotti April 25, 2024
0 Comments
NAB's Eric Trabb (right) awards SNS with two NAB Show Product of ...
26/04/2024
Sony's Ci Media Cloud Keeps NHRA Moving
Brie Clayton April 25, 2024
0 Comments
Cloud-Based Media Asset Management and Collaboration Platform Accel...
26/04/2024
Capitol Broadcasting & Leadership Triangle Collaborate for Third Year
Capitol B...
26/04/2024
The staff at CBC Radio have been hard at work creating several new features for listeners and viewers. Several debuts are taking place this spring.
I have nev...
26/04/2024
26 Apr 2024
Cricket Finds Its Digital Home in Bangladesh: VEON's Banglalink...
26/04/2024
NBA Playoffs 2024: ESPN Rolls Out Huge Production Operation for Busy First Round Tech deployments include miked on-field personnel, shot-distance tracking, AR g...
26/04/2024
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: ESPN Ops Team Navigates Both Sides of the Border With ...
26/04/2024
Behind the Scenes at the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit (Photo Gallery) After just the first round, the 2024 NFL Draft has already made quite an impression in Detroi...
26/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: Van Wagner Powers Onsite Entertainment Experience for Record Cro...
26/04/2024
Rohde & Schwarz presents spectrum dominance in all domains at AOC Europe Rohde & Schwarz demonstrates the next generation of SIGINT/EW systems and sensor fusi...
26/04/2024
MCine Mauritius is to use Qube Wire for all future DCP deliveries across their e...
26/04/2024
Skeem Saam' May Spoiler: Has Lehasa killed Khwezi?The Skeem Saam' May teasers mention Lehasa being apologetic about killing someone. Is it his baby mam...
26/04/2024
Skeem Saam: Thursday's episode, 25 April 2024 [video]Missed an episode of Skeem Saam? No problem! Watch the latest episode of your favourite South African s...
26/04/2024
Prison Journalism: Some issues to considerWesley Leong was incarcerated at the age of 15 in 1996 at Pollsmoor Prison. He is currently part of Restore's rese...
26/04/2024
Tonight on Scandal: A line is crossed and a mother starts to lose focusDon't miss Friday, 26 April's riveting episode of South African soapie Scandal! o...
Why This Matters: Every creator hopes for a good, long run for their show, but a successful second season may be a series' toughest hurdle.
