Fox's Utopia set to become the biggest flop in TV history

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/11089363/Utopia-set-to-become-the-biggest-flop-in-TV-history.html


Utopia set to become the biggest flop in TV history
Fox's new "social experiment" reality show has cost the network $50 million but is already struggling in the ratings


Fox’s latest reality show, Utopia, is facing a serious drop in ratings after the network spent $50 million on the show, making it potentially the biggest flop in TV history

Utopia is billed as a “social experiment”, which sees 14 strangers thrown into a remote location in the hills of California with no heating, electricity or plumbing and asked to survive for a year on their own skills and the skills of their fellow pioneers. Hidden cameras are placed all over the five-acre compound and the pioneers will be filmed round the clock for the next year. Viewers can watch live for $4.99 a month, while highlights are being aired throughout the week for free.

Before the show even began, Utopia had a few dramas. Security had to restrain a contestant following an altercation and another contestant was revealed to be pregnant. One contestant has even been removed from the show altogether for breaking the terms of the show after having smuggled in a mobile phone to research the other contestants.

Yet viewers are still not interested. Having drawn 4.63 million viewers for its September 7 premiere, the show saw a drop of around 55% for the September 9 show, with only 2.48 million tuning in. It probably isn’t in the show’s favour that it currently airs at the same time as CBS’s Big Brother, which was also created by Utopia creator John De Mol.

Reviews of the premiere have not been in the show's favour. The AV Club stated that: “Utopia is as deep, concise, and enlightened as a drunk diner conversation—that is to say, not at all. Despite potential, anthropological or otherwise, Utopia fails to deliver on almost every one of its lofty promises.”

[postulater]

1. I watched one minute.

Then I realized it was a reality show.

I get enough reality already.

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. I am enjoying it. The article is incorrect though...

One can watch two of the live feeds for free. The all-access (4 feeds), uncensored feeds are $4.99/month.

I have found it interesting because there's quite a broad cross-section of people (political/religious) participating.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

3. I'm not much on reality shows, but I watched the first one and was on the show's

Twitter feed and the overall consensus was favorable. I thought it was an interesting experiment. Not sure why it's audience dropped. I do know that I missed ep. 2 for no reason other than I wasn't paying attention to what day and time it's on. I will catch up online and will continue to watch until it's cancelled or until I get tired of it, which is usually the case with me with this type of show.

[FSogol]

4. "I missed ep. 2 for no reason other than I wasn't paying attention" Must see TV?

Fox thought this would be a big hit with libertarians, secessionists, and other malcontents, but the truth is that building a society requires liberal thinking, consensus about the public good and needs of the group over the needs of the individual, as well as hard work. Of course, maybe it is a flop because Fox's viewers don't know what "utopia" means.

[ScreamingMeemie]

5. Naaaahhh...sometimes it's a horse and not a zebra...

Fox thought this would be a big hit because John De Mol creates big hits (Big Brother, The Voice).

Also, the Netherlands version is a big hit (think "Strictly Come Dancing" and the US version "Dancing with the Stars&quot

That said, I am amazed at the vast array of beliefs in just 14 (now 15 people). A fun side note, a Tea Party activist/organizer was just banished from Utopia, to the delight of the Twitterverse.

[FSogol]

6. Why was the tea party guy banished? No useful skills or extreme laziness? n/t

[ScreamingMeemie]

7. They didn't like her and felt they already had enough "leaders." The other woman

was a full-time marketer. The group has to find ways to make money once their $5K seed cash is gone.

[951-Riverside]

20. How can the seed cash be worth anything if they're cut off from society? n/t

[ScreamingMeemie]

22. They are only "cut off" until they get running electricity (they have)

and can charge a phone. There is a list of suppliers they can call for appliances/tools/food/event advertising/etc.

[joshcryer]

26. They have to use the seed money to get "connected."

Internet, computer, etc. There's a marketer there who is a professional web site developer and who has expressed a lot of ideas about starting a web business (funnily, one of her pitches was making a "haters" site that makes fun of them).

[ChisolmTrailDem]

8. It's true. I did find myself appalled a couple of times and realizing

that, in order for this society to settle on a civilized peace, liberal values and rules will have to take root. And those libertarians on that show are going to have to become liberals in order for their society to attain it's goal, ostensibly to become a peaceful, civilized, apathetic, and harmonius society, whether they like or realized it or not.

[Liberal_in_LA]

10. i wanted to see the survival aspects - see them setting up gardens,building homes,

Sort of like "the colony". Instead its non stop screaming matches

[ScreamingMeemie]

11. The digging of the trench was pretty impressive I thought, and I'm amazed at

how nice the bathroom is. Josh knows his stuff.

[Liberal_in_LA]

19. ratings are down again. enjoy the show while u can

[ScreamingMeemie]

21. I plan on it! Thanks!

[951-Riverside]

16. Now I'd watch a real show with real survivalist types

I'm talking about chain smoking Appalachian types vs. Methhead Idaho types Vs. Some folks from remote areas of montana.Vs... Army Rangers and ...throw in a guy from Florida. Richard McNair could host the show.

I'm sure it would be a hit.

No one is going to watch some plaid shirt and skinny jeans wearing actor crying and moaning about something that no one gives a crap about.

[joshcryer]

24. I agree, I think it is interesting because of the diversity.

The live feed only, though, the show itself is producer pushed nonsense (they have to wear earpieces and the producers tell them what drama to start).

[RebelOne]

9. I saw the ads and it did not interest me in the least. n/t

[mokawanis]

12. The show is so bad it's almost good

Almost. I don't what the criteria for selecting the participants was, but they sure picked a bunch of strange people. I sent a not very nice email to the show while I was watching the first episode and they emailed me back 5 minutes later, telling me the show gets better and asking me to keep watching.

[JI7]

13. this is the first i have heard of this show

[Liberal_in_LA]

15. 14 people on 5 acre land in California for one year without leaving the property

Must create their own society. Land has lake for water source.

[951-Riverside]

17. So its a show about migrant workers? n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

18. nooooooo.

[951-Riverside]

14. "Viewers can watch live for $4.99 a month"

This is why its been a complete failure.

You don't blow $50 million on a TV show that no one has ever heard off in a market that has long been saturated by similar shows that are also losing money

...and then turn around and charge a fee for it.

Why would I pay $4.99 to watch a group of unknown people on a show that I've never heard. This is another “If I Can Dream.”

...Ever heard of it?

[ScreamingMeemie]

23. That part of the article is partially incorrect. You can watch two of the feeds for free.

To watch all four, it is $4.99/month for uncensored. Not being into boobie watching (they bathe in the lake), I can do without paying.

[joshcryer]

25. That's for extended access stuff.

No idea what's on the $5 streams but the other live streams are just fine.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

27. So how do you "win"?

Usual reality show bullshit of people getting voted off one by one (i.e. bitchy intrapersonal politics) or is there some more objective performance, making money etc.?

Given that it's on FOX I would expect it to be some crap worshipping people who can bootstrap themselves to success, but the premise does sound somewhat interesting, how it would actually be implemented is everything.

[Scootaloo]

28. By not dying of cholera?

[joshcryer]

29. The pitch was probably "become famous."

In the end you could expect the final "society" to be of a very diverse group of very intelligent people who have 1) acting experience 2) community building experience 3) skillset improvement 4) showed social mobility and social interaction.

They'd all leave with a good resume. Assuming they lasted a year. Or three.

A lot of Survivor people went on to do acting, so I think acting is their primary goal, starting their own reality shows and whatnot. Getting casting calls, etc. Most of the people appear to be open minded, free spirited people, who would have acting skills.

That said, they probably get $2-3k an episode or something like that, so they are making good money. I know at least Red implied he'd be putting all of his money back into his business, buying stuff like epoxy to do certain jobs right.

[chrisa]

30. Caught 5 minutes of this trash by accident. It's every bit as bad as you would think.

The show has all of the stupid, fake reality TV elements. I laughed and changed the channel when, of course, all of the women got naked (totally real and unscripted). It's like Fox got jealous of how fake Survivor is and decided to pull something dumber and trashier out of their arses.