At the beginning of the Fall TV Season, Megan turned to her crystal ball to try to predict which of the new shows would live, which were in trouble and which were probably doomed to cancellation. One of the shows she had targeted for the bottom of the list was FOX’s new reality show Utopia which sends 15 men and women into isolation for one year where they’re expected to build a society and survive.
Once Utopia settles into it’s regular twice-a-week Tuesday/Friday schedule, it’s expected by the network to fill the void left by the previous reality music competition series The X-Factor, but it’s already struggling in the ratings. After a so-so debut of 4.6 million viewers (1.9 rating among adults 18-49) on Sunday night, Utopia is looking even less like TV paradise after dropping to 2.5 million viewers (0.9 rating among adults 18-49) for its second episode last night in the regular Tuesday slot.
Stay tuned and keep those axes sharpened.
I knew Utopia was bad as I was watching it. The show had no centralized personality or reason for being. Now it may not matter. I don’t know if I’m happy about that, or sad for Fox TV. Probably a little of both.
When I was driving home after getting lunch yesterday, MyTalk107 was discussing how bad Utopia was, and they just had nothing nice to say about it. Especially when it came to talking about the pregnant woman and how absurd it would be for her to have to give birth in that barren place.
I predict an early death too.
I watched about 20 minutes of it last night (as I waited for another horrible reality show, America’s Got Talent, to start), and it’s…wretched. It’s like Salute Your Shorts had an attention-hungry, redneck cousin.
Is it possible the competition reality bubble is finally bursting? This just seems like a badly done mashup of Big Brother and Survivor and whatever the hell else show depends on people rather than talent.