NBC’s Bent is a pretty good show! You wouldn’t know that by how NBC has treated it, however: burning through an entire six-episode season in three weeks with very little promotion. And when a show is clearly being burned off, it makes people not want to get invested in it, which makes the whole thing a self-fulfilling prophecy. But it’s not all NBC’s fault, at least according to this breakdown of potential justifications for the network’s behavior. Basically, it would cost them a whole lot to hold it over until the summertime, or to advertise it more, and they thought it would be better for people to get to watch multiple episodes quickly in order to get on board. Based on the ratings, it’s not looking like that strategy worked, but time will tell.
But you’ve really gotta feel for poor David Walton. If Bent gets the axe, this will be his fifth NBC show that didn’t make it past the first season. Fifth! (For those keeping track at home: Heist, Quarterlife, 100 Questions, and Perfect Couples.) The poor guy just can’t make it to season two. But hey, Bent isn’t dead yet. Its ratings are not great, but the string-pullers at NBC apparently like it, and stranger things have happened. Maybe stick around after BFFs tonight and see if it’s worth saving, eh?
