I was reading Media Week this morning and came across an article that said according to TV Dailies NBC's Bionic Woman and ABC's Cavemen are the highest-rated new network TV programs on this Fall's prime-time schedule in terms of viewer buzz, awareness and intent to watch. This is great news for us at WOAI if the findings turn out to be true. Often times a show has a lot of buzz and a huge cult following such as the Black Donnelly's or Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip but the TV ratings do not support all the buzz.

In my career I have seen many TV pilots that I thought would make excellent on air shows and they flopped and others that I wouldn't spend one moment of my precious time watching that turned out to be hits. And I am not alone, media buyers I know have decided not to buy certain shows because they are certain they will be the first to be cancelled and they end up delivering the biggest ratings of the season.

In the TV Dailies study Cavemen in particular was singled out by several media buyers as potentially the first show to be canceled yet no one really knows how it will all shake out until the shows actually air and viewers make their choices. Last season few media buyers projected NBC's Heroes as a hit, but online buzz predicted that the show would be among the highest rated, and it was. So what shows will stay and what will go? We will have to all wait till the season premiers in September to see which ones make the final cut. While its not my cup of tea I predict that the Bionic Woman will be a big hit. As for the Cavemen, I think initial viewing levels will be high but once the initial curiosity wears off the show will be cancelled. (five episodes…tops)

Which new shows are you looking forward to watching? Are there any that you think will be a big hit? What one show do you have to watch every week?