Why Do TV Execs Suck? [R.I.P. Boston Legal]

Posted by Double M

Monday night, the last episode of Boston Legal, one of the smartest shows on TV, aired. I didn't always agree with the views discussed in Boston Legal, but I always came away a smarter, more educated person. I know shows can't go on forever, but it seemed that everyone involved in Boston Legal didn't want to go off the air considering in the 2nd to last episode, they sued the TV networks for bad programming (irony attack!).

So if the show didn't want to go away, why is it gone? This isn't Friends where everyone thought they could go on to do better things (Pop-quiz: Who's career would you rather have Matt LeBlanc's or David Schwimmer's? Seriously go look at those resumes and let me know). Its gone because TV execs decided it should go.

I know not all of you watch Boston Legal, but here's why you should be scared. Boston Legal does around 8-10 million viewers per show. That's more than 30 Rock, The Office, and on par with or above just about every show you *should* love outside of CSI or reality television (yes, that means Grey's Anatomy is not ok, even for you ladies). Also, according to Nielsen Media Research, Boston Legal draws the richest viewing audience on television, based on the concentration of high income viewers in its young adult audience (Adult 18–49 index w/$100k+ annual income).

So Boston Legal, an award winning show that has a rich viewing audience (which should be important to advertisers) and does decent viewing numbers (for a show they don't promote at all! I don't remember one Boston Legal commercial, but I've seen a bazillion for Life on Mars which no one watches and does worse on TV) but it still gets canned. If it can happen to this show - it can happen to one you love.

But you already know this...

Anyway, if you're ever flipping around and see Boston Legal on in syndication (its there, trust me), go ahead and watch it - you won't be disappointed. Here's a clips from this season that made me laugh.