This surprises me:
FX Unveils 'Damages' With CloseAnthony Crupi
APRIL 25, 2007 -
FX is expected to renew its newest series, Dirt and The Riches, bringing the number of original dramas on the network’s prime time schedule to six.
“We’re really happy with the performance of Dirt and The Riches, and I expect them to return,” said John Landgraf, president and general manager, FX Networks, before an upfront screening of FX’s latest drama, the Glenn Close legal thriller, Damages.
Landgraf added that when each show’s cumulative ratings are tallied up––FX programs three weekly repeat episodes of each of its original premieres––both series have delivered ratings on a par with older hits like Rescue Me and Nip/Tuck.
In order to set the table for the Damages screening, Landgraf offered a précis of the last six years at the network, pointing out that since 2001, FX has grown from the twelfth most-watched cable channel among adults 18-49 to its present perch, at fourth place.
Set to premiere in July, Damages stars Close as the formidable litigator Patty Hewes. The actress has worked with FX in the recent past, having played the role of Capt. Monica Rawling throughout season four of The Shield (2005). Landraf said the legal genre has been a tough nut for FX to crack, estimating that since coming aboard in 2004, he’s looked at more than 20 different scripts before Damages crossed his desk.
While Landgraf praised the pilot’s intricate storyline and whiplash plot reversals, he acknowledged that even the renowned Close could pose a few challenges as the series’ star. “We had questions about putting a 50-something actress in the lead role, and how that might jibe with the FX brand.”
(Close is actually 60.)
Those initial worries aside, it appears that Close and FX are a match. According to Landgraf, 81 percent of the preview audience that screened the pilot earlier this year said that Damages would best jibe with the FX brand, beating out all other networks, including HBO, TNT and USA.
Moreover, FX isn’t just a boys' club anymore. Of the overall ratings growth the network has seen over the last five years, 54 percent of the viewership gains can be chalked up to a female-skewing audience drawn in by shows like Nip/Tuck and Dirt.
That said, when The Shield finally retires next year after seven seasons on the job, FX will look to do another male-skewing cop show, Landgraf said.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu..._id=1003576664&imw=Y
