Grey's Anatomy Season 9 Fast-Tracked to Australian TV

Grey's Anatomy Returns To Australian TV Oct 2, 2012

Australia's Seven Network will fast track the new Season of Grey's Anatomy to screen approximately five days after the United States premiere. In a bid to attract ratings for the long running medical drama which has declined in ratings in Australia over the years.

Meredith Grey is an attending; fans can't wait to see that

For a long time in Australia most new US shows are not shown here until after the non-ratings summer period is over; however this neglect has affected the ratings of many top rating US shows. Internet video piracy is another issue that affects the ratings of some shows. Many viewers choose to watch their favourite US programs online or download the episodes; which are usually available online once the episode has screened in the US. This affects ratings in a big way; as most viewers will choose to watch something new. 



The Nine Network actually bucked this trend when it decided to fast-track new Person of Interest to Sunday nights in October last year. This experiment was a success with America's most watched drama rating very well. Given the timeslot which was sometimes 10.30pm; particularly when they slotted it after Alcatraz on a Monday; it rated in the several hundred thousands in total viewers, even repeat episodes were rating at 500,000. Can Grey's Anatomy do that well. Given that it's the Seven network; then it's possible, however Grey's is in it's ninth season so perhaps not. Give it a decent timeslot and show new episodes when the US does, and yes; it could reach the million mark again.








This strategy could really work well if the Australian networks keep to the same schedule as the US. Five days is okay; but ideally showing the most recent Grey's Anatomy episode as soon as possible would be better and it is possible. Scheduling the show on Sunday might work. Pay TV have been fast tracking US and UK shows for years. Seven's new drama Smash was fast-tracked via pay TV, so what is currently being shown on the Seven network are technically repeats for some Australian viewers. But now this show has Grey's Anatomy as it's lead in at 10.45 so the numbers for this timeslot may be really good. This week Smash rated over 500,000 given that it started late at 9.51pm. 

Leaked photo from the set of Grey's, Season 9; not sure what's going on here.

Given the popularity of Grey's Anatomy in Australia, it is likely if Seven give the show a decent timeslot it will rate well. However, this is unlikely given XFactor Australia is dominating programming for the next eight weeks. Sadly Free to Air TV networks in Australia do not respect their viewers; and they push and shove programs all over the place without advising viewers of these changes and this is yet another reason why programs do not rate. My guess is if Grey's Anatomy picks up 500,000 viewers nationwide every week in the 
9.30-9.45 timeslot, then it is likely Seven will be happy with this and hopefully fast-track Season 10 of Grey's Anatomy if ABC renew for a 10th season. All of this will ride on whether Seven stay within the United States ABC schedule for Grey's Anatomy Season 9. If not; viewers like me will get pissed off and either watch online, live stream or download episodes and the money that the Seven network have paid to fast-track these new shows will have been in vain.


What is not clear is why the Seven network are not showing Grey's Anatomy on a Thursday night in it's usual timeslot given that we are currently getting a double dose of Criminal Minds on that night. Seven have also advertised that Scandal is coming soon, which is made by the same people who make Grey's Anatomy, however this show went to air in the US in April/May so it really would not be considered fast-tracking. I wonder where Seven will schedule this show? Is it just a teaser for next year?  Stay tuned I guess.

Patrick Dempsey (Derek Shepherd) leaked this one; McSteamy's not looking good here

The difficulty in predicting whether this is a smart move by Seven will be told by the numbers. For a nine season old show that was a hit in it's early years; it could go either way. Grey's Anatomy still has a huge following in the US; totalling 8-10 million viewers most weeks during Season 8; so it's likely it will do well. Seven have also opted to fast-track Once Upon A Time which is about to premiere it's second season in the US. I would need to research the numbers but I believe it was very popular with the advertising demographic TV networks are targeting. Either way Grey's Anatomy has a strong following in Australia, the hope is that network Seven treat the show and the show's fans with the respect it and they deserve. 

Watch Grey's Anatomy Season 9 premiere on Seven; Tuesday 2 October 2012 at 9.45pm. And stay tuned for my review which will be posted soon after the episode goes to air.



To read more about Grey's Anatomy, Please visit me at: http://janelle-coulton.suite101.com


Copyright © 2012 Janelle Coulton

Too Many Grey's Anatomy Spoilers Or Not Enough?

Is Shonda Rhimes talking about the upcoming season of Grey's Anatomy more than usual? I think she is. In the lead up to the Season 8 finale; in my opinion Shonda was very vocal than she has been in the past. When you compare it to the lead up to the Season 7 finale; Shonda and her team were pretty quiet. And to make it worse, word leaked about the contract negotiations of the original stars, which more or less spoiled a lot of the suspense for many fans, including myself. The contract negotiations of the original stars dictated the story arcs; this should never have happened, however that's different story altogether.

Grey's Anatomy Season 8 Cast photo

I didn't start reading spoilers and watching previews until a friend directed me on how to to watch Season 7 online (or download it), instead of having to wait more than six months to see it in Australia. During the six seasons that I waited patiently until February for my favourite show to premiere in Australia, I do not remember much being said about what was coming next on Grey's Anatomy. In-fact I remember reading something to the effect that Shonda Rhimes had all her staff, cast and crew sign agreements which effectively banned anyone from her camp talking about the show. In-fact at the time, I was working with someone who did have access to the show from the US and she was careful never to give away spoilers.

 

Ever since the lead up to the Season finale in May 2012, there have been more leaks to the press about what's to come on Grey's than ever before.
However, having said that; this is only my opinion as I did not pay attention to the gossip sites and Facebook, Twitter and the like. Shortly after I learnt how to get access to my favourite show via the magic of the internet, I began to read some spoilers.


Talk about Grey's Anatomy is a good thing in the sense that it generates interest amongst the current fans, the new fans and the viewers who lost interest in the show. Ratings will tell us that this has happened steadily over the last four to five years. The pilot episode drew over 16 million viewers, and given that it aired in the 10pm timeslot, these numbers were record breaking. By the ninth episode; Grey's had attracted over 22 million viewers. Season's 2 and 3 were in terms of ratings the most successful, and after Season 4; ratings started to decline.  The ratings table at Wikipedia tell the story. Despite this lull in the ratings; Grey's Anatomy is still up there as one of the most popular shows in the US; winning it's timeslot time and time again.

Grey's Anatomy Season 8 DVD Cover

Are the declining a result of too many spoilers and Shonda Rhimes running her mouth? Probably not. Many fans quit this show because they were fed up with certain story arcs that seemingly did not work. The dead Denny sex with Izzie Stevens in Season 5 was one story that was very unpopular amongst fans. And how can we forget the George/Izzie pairing. This idea went down like a lead balloon. Why Shonda and her writers did not stick with the Alex/Izzie pairing is a big mystery, as Alex and Izzie were very popular with the fans of both Justin Chambers and Katherine Heigl. 

                       

Izzie and Alex; Popular Grey's couple

What would help ratings and bring back the long, lost fans who gave up on the show a few years ago would be to go back to the basic formula the writers used in Season's 1,2 & 3. If you visit any of the Grey's Anatomy message boards; such as, TWOP or Grey'sABC, that seems to be the general opinion amongst contributors to these forums.

     

George and Izzie, Best friends who should have never been lovers

The pairing of George and Izzie and the end of George's marriage to Callie was a story that should have never happened. But the past is the past and George and Izzie are now not part of Grey's Anatomy. That being said, these two actors were very popular and many fans miss them. This does not mean that Shonda and her writers cannot interest some of the fans who lost interest a few years ago. Great drama can be created on TV without jumping the shark, as the Grey's writers have done on so many occasions. Many fans were upset about the plane crash finale in the eighth season; especially when it culminated in the death of a favourite character; Lexie. News has recently come to light that Eric Dane; who plays Mark Sloan; the love of Lexie's life is leaving too. And it pretty clear from the chatter from Shonda, her actors and crew members leaking spoilers and pics that Mark will succumb to his injuries from the plane crash. This scenario is very likely going to upset many Mark and Lexie fans. If the writers don't try to capture the basic formula this show was built on and re-ignite past fan interest, I really don't see Grey's continuing past Season 9 or 10.

Happier times for Mark and Lexie

Personally for mine; I would prefer less chatter about what's to come as a lot of it is speculation and not based in fact. The so-called video links that have been released are not what I would consider Season 9 previews, only scenes from previous seasons. I rarely watch previews as I don't really want to know what's coming until I see the episodes. However, that's a difficult task given when I write for my blog here, I need to research the latest Grey's Anatomy news.


So readers; what do you think? Would you like more spoilers and what do you think of the recent spoilers about Grey's Anatomy?  Sound off in the comments, like us on Facebook or connect via Twitter.

Season 8 Is Available on DVD

To read more about Grey's Anatomy, Please visit me at: http://janelle-coulton.suite101.com



Copyright © 2012 Janelle Coulton