The big networks’ fall TV season kicks into high gear this week with a string of new comedies and dramas set to make their debuts, but a New York Times piece from Bill Carter calls into question whether or not the traditional September-to-May model is an outdated one. With more and more cable shows (which don’t orbit the traditional TV season) attracting higher ratings while major networks see their Nielsens taking a continuous slide, it’s only a matter of time before one of the Big Four networks (you don’t count, CW) takes a nod from cable and starts introducing new shows outside of the traditional late September clusterfuck. But will audiences be as susceptible to the charms of a wacky, interspecies group of veterinarians in April as they are in September? That’s the question NBC’s research department is probably toiling away on right now.
