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Why ABC’s new series “Work It” Is an EPIC Failure by ABC Management

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

By Kate Blake – Admin TheEntertainmentHotline

Who remembers Bosom Buddies? It starred Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari as two guys in advertising who donned dresses after work to get cheap digs in New York in a women’s hotel. Work It is a new series coming to ABC this fall that is trying to capture the fun of two guys in a dress. The big problem? Instead of having them wear the dresses part time to get a lease we are supposed to suspend our belief and accept that two men can dress as women in order to get good paying professional jobs.

From the ABC website :

about work it

This high-concept comedy centers on two unrepentant guy’s guys who, unable to find work, dress as women to get jobs as pharmaceutical reps. Not only do they pull it off, but they might just learn to be better men in the process.

With unemployment an ongoing issue and women now outnumbering men in the workforce, the new comedy series “Work It” follows two alpha males who realize the only way to beat the current “mancession” and land a job in pharmaceutical sales is to pass themselves off as women. Combining all the best elements of the workplace comedy, the buddy comedy and the family comedy, “Work It” centers on Lee Standish (Ben Koldyke) — a quick-witted and likable family man who used to be a top car salesman until he got laid off — and Angel Ortiz (Amaury Nolasco) — a single, hot-headed ladies’ man with no filter — who quickly learn there are fundamental differences in the worlds of men and women that go beyond teetering in high heels and tightening up with Spanx. Lee and Angel are determined to keep their ruse going for as long as they can — and keep their newly found jobs — in this smart, funny and relevant look at male and female relationships at work, at home and socially. Being a better man sometimes means having to be a better woman.

starring:
Ben Koldyke as Lee Standish
Amaury Nolasco as Angel Ortiz
Beth Lacke as Connie
John Caparulo as Brian
Rebecca Mader as Grace
Rochelle Aytes as Vanessa
Kate Reinders as Kelly
Kirstin Eggers as Kristin
Kacie Lynch as Kat
credits:
Executive Producer / Writer: Andrew Reich
Executive Producer / Writer: Ted Cohen
Director: Beth McCarthy-Miller
Production Company: Bonanza Productions, Inc. / Summer School Productions / Warner Bros. Television

Why is this such an epic failure that I put EPIC in all caps in this article’s title? Well let me count the ways! Wait – there is one reason and that is all you need to know.

1. Pharmaceutical sales is not a job where you can hide your gender or your background.

Why is this? Well pharmaceutical companies are part of the most regulated industry in the entire world – the only other industry with tighter scrutiny is the nuclear industry. The FDA has all kinds of regulations that must be adhered to from the earliest stages of research and development all the way through distribution and sales. This means that when a person applies for a job at a pharmaceutical company their background will be scrutinized with the highest level of magnification available. The Human Resources groups have incredibly formal hiring processes and long involved procedures for bringing on all new hires.

Step 1- Submit a resume and an application. You need a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in a scientific field or an R.N in nursing to work as a pharmaceutical representative.

Step 2- Phone interview with human resources- usually followed by taking an aptitude test. At this time if you pass you will be put into the hiring process to meet with a team from sales management.

Step 3- If you have made it past the first two steps- you will have your background thoroughly investigated. Most people in the industry call this the F.B.I check as your resume will be vetted from checking on your degree and dates of schooling , through your previous employers, a credit check, a check of your driving record and a criminal background check which may include your being fingerprinted. As a final step you must pass a drug test as well. Oh – and you have to sign off on a private investigator having the ok to talk to your neighbors about you too. Unless you live in the Chicago or New York city areas you will need to travel for your interviews and when hired – everyone who gets a job in this country has to present two forms of government identification. A birth certificate, drivers license, passport or social security card are all considered valid ID. How are two guys going to pull that off unless they are breaking the law and presenting falsified documents thus committing fraud?

I would like to know what idiot at ABC let this show through their vetting process? Doesn’t anyone do any research to determine if a series has any grounds for being even slightly within the realm of possibility?

Let’s suspend belief and go with the concept that two car salesmen could don dresses and get the job. How are they going to pass the training? Just like the hiring process – the training process in the pharmaceutical industry is rigorous.

Step 1- Travel to an onsite training facility for the company you are working for. See above for how this would be problematic for our posers.

Step 2- Training ranges from 2 weeks to 2 months depending on the product line and the company. This will include in depth training on company processes and procedures, technical product training and intensive sales training in the formal methods used by the particular company. The technical training is where the educational requirements come in to place as most new drugs are complicated and it is very important that the reps who act as the voice of the company knows how they work at a molecular level and can answer any and all questions a medical doctor or pharmacist may ask them. Every part of the training program includes testing and new hires can be sent home at any time during training for any reason.

Step 3- Lets say you pass training- good for you! Now you will be sent out into the field , usually with your boss or a training manager along for the first week or two. Your job will be to figure out who to call on in your territory- every sales rep has a defined area and set of accounts assigned to them with no overlap. Once you finish training- you are on your own.

What does an average day look like for a sales rep in the pharmaceutical world? Well once upon a time you chatted up nurses and handed out pills and played golf with doctors. Today in a world where insurance companies are determined to keep costs down doctors and nurses cannot accept goodies and gifts. Sometimes they even have to pay for their own meals if you go out to lunch with them. What can you do to get word out? You make cold calls on offices and set appointments and plead your drug’s case when you do get in front of a physician. Once you have a client – then it is maintenance to keep them in samples and brochures . You do not have time to hang out- usually you are expected to visit 25 to 50 offices per day depending on your product line and your territory. Your company usually provides you with an all expenses paid company car to facilitate this travel along with a cell phone and lap top to report in to your boss throughout the day. Many of your weekends will be spent traveling to and from trade shows and company meetings as well as attending medical conferences and industry events. This is not a job about sallying about pulling a case of samples and hanging out all day. There is a reason pharmaceutical sales people make a good living earning from $50, 000 to $100,000 per year – the work involves ongoing training, a commitment to hard work and long hours often away from home.

Does this sound like grounds for a gender swapping comedy? I don’t think so. What makes me an expert? Outside of being a tv geek I worked for 20 years in the pharmaceutical and biotech field as a sales rep and have been through all of the hiring processes listed above. I have done graduate work in biochemistry and know more people with doctoral degrees who are in sales than you would ever guess. Every once in a while someone hires a person with no medical or science background for a job in this field. Inevitably- they fail. You have to be able to speak with authority and have the right credentials to be successful in this field. I have been out of the industry for about 5 years and am no longer considered a viable candidate because my credentials are not current. I am ok with this as I have a new career in the travel industry with shorter hours, good money and no stress but from the moment I saw the initial specs on “Work It” I have been shaking my head. I know that people in Hollywood live in a bubble- but I am beyond disappointed that the execs in charge of programming at ABC would allow a series like this to get greenlit and I have to think that the one million or so people who work in the pharmaceutical industry in this country will feel the same.

If you are in love with your cast and the concept may I suggest you do some research and change their field of work to something that does not require this kind of regulation? Maybe the health food and vitamin industry which refuses to be governed by the FDA? They could sell pseudo medical diet products to health food stores and spas. That would be more realistic and provide plenty of room for comedy.

 

 

 

How The CW Can Evolve – Program like a Cable Network

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

By Erika Blake
The Entertainment Hotline admin

Today Mark Pedowitz, former head of ABC Studios was named the new head of The CW.  Some of the problems that he faces are growing cable channel competition, losing their key audience (women 18-34) and losing viewers during long rounds of repeats during the year and all summer long.

There is an easy solution for their woes: they need to stop thinking like a network channel and act like they’re on cable.  The CW only has five nights of programming and 10 slots to fill for their programming. Their shows always get decimated in the latter 1/2 of the quarter in the ratings after they have a strong Fall showing when they go on Christmas/early winter break and they fill their schedule with repeats. Viewers generally don’t watch the repeats – why would they? If they love the show, likely they’ve got all of the episodes stored on their DVR’s and can rewatch them w/o commercials to their heart’s content. When new episodes return in mid-winter, the ratings drop because people have no idea when the series are returning. Every time you see big dips in ratings it happens after a show has gone off air into repeat land and returned without people knowing that the series are back.

Viewers of the CW tend to watch the network for their favorite shows only, they don’t tend to watch the other programming that’s available on the network. Say, those of us who devour their supernatural/sci-fi programming – we can care less about “America’s Next Top Model.”  However, fans of “Gossip Girl” likely would be interested in the reality series verses checking out “Nikita.” Running ads for new episodes of “Gossip Girl” during “Supernatural” will only serve one purpose – it’ll piss off your “Supernatural” fans.  The network would do themselves more favors by airing tons of ads for “The Vampire Diaries” and “Nikita” during “Supernatural” since they are series that court similar viewers. “Nikita” for example courts the exact same age demographic as “Supernatural” – putting these two series together next Fall would be like peanut butter and jelly. Both are action series, both have 2 leads fighting for good in a world filled with evil. Putting “Nikita” with “One Tree Hill” would be a disaster. People don’t tune into “Nikita” for the soap storylines (sorry, Dawn Ostroff, we don’t) it wouldn’t benefit ratings wise paired with the aging soap, even though they share similar age demos. But having a powerful “girl power” series before the Winchester brother adventures? That would be a great pairing – you might actually get the male “Nikita” viewers to stay and watch “Supernatural” also.

Cable channels exist and flourish because they don’t follow the traditional network path for programming. They run shorter seasons and then when one series is over, they start up another one. The CW can do this to keep viewers coming back all year round. What do we know? We know that in the winter, “American Idol” comes in and powers through the ratings, we also know that “Glee” kills on Tuesdays and likely steals most of The CW’s viewers, hence why shows that getting stuck against it get crushed (“Life Unexpected,” “Hellcats.”)

So The CW needs to mix things up – maybe move “Nikita” and “Supernatural” to Tuesdays- because trust me, people who watch “Supernatural” tend to loathe “Glee.” Offer viewers programming that they can’t get on other networks at that time.

The network would do better by ordering more newer series and yet ordering them w/ shorter seasons. Let’s say that they liked their new pilots for “Awakening” “Secret Circle” “Heavenly” and “Heart of Dixie” – but they only decided to cancel one show. Premiering only one or two of these new pilots in Fall would give them new shows that they could pull out of their pockets to air in winter when the network generally gluts its programming with repeats. If they were to hold off on one drama and one supernatural-type series they could promote their returns of their other programming during the show that best attracts a similar audience. Say “Heart of Dixie” which is a small town medical show starring Rachel Bilson, could get filled with programming reminders of “90120″ “Gossip Girl” and “One Tree Hill” returning. Whereas, say “Awakening” could be paired with repeats of “Supernatural” and would attract similar audiences and could be filled with ads for the return of “Secret Circle” and “Vampire Diaries.”

The new President mentioned the woes of not being able to hold onto viewers during the Summer, perhaps those shows that they premiere in winter with 12 episode runs could return in the Summer with runs of 10 episodes each. The returns would get large press coverage as their return would coincide with the UpFronts and TCAs in the Summer. The Summer is becoming the next hot place for new series to premiere. HBO always has a smash hit on it’s hand when they air “True Blood” only in the Summers. TNT is about to premiere their new sci-fi Steven Spielberg alien invasion drama “Falling Skies” in the Summer as well as unleashing a whole slew of their standard series. USA kicks ratings booty with “Burn Notice” and “Covert Affairs.” Syfy unleashes their ratings giant “Warehouse 13″ and fan favorites “Eureka” and “Haven” in the summer to bring viewers back to TV and out of the heat. Perhaps The CW could learn from this. “Hellcats” has a cult following who’s ratings have been severely hurt by being put up against “Glee” which is a demo stealer. Why not order 13 episodes of it for the 2011-2012 season, but air them next Summer when they won’t have similar ratings competition? Trust me, fans would be more willing to wait a year for their series to return than have it outright canceled.

The overall viewing audience on The CW is younger and more techno-savvy.  The network needs to do things to attract viewers away from buying and viewing episodes online where they can view their favorite shows either without commercials or entirely without logos plastered all over their series. One way would be to rethink how they promote their network and shows while their shows are airing. The CW blasts huge, ugly ads all over their live programs advertising their other series. Examples:

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Massive graphics that take up huge chunks of the screen are IRRITATING and trigger the opposite response than the network is hoping for in viewers. Advertising “90210′s” return on screen during “Smallville” makes me less likely to EVER want to watch that series. Running tiny, unobtrusive bars along the bottom of the screen advertising things would be far more preferable since that wouldn’t interfere with our ability to fully watch the new episode while it’s airing. And when I say tiny, I most certainly don’t mean this monstrosity:

galleryhosted.com

Want people to watch the commercials? How about slipping in sponsor supported behind the scenes clips or cast interviews during the live episode airings that will be ONLY available during a live broadcast? Syfy is currently doing that with their series “Fact or Faked” and it certainly has succeeded in making me watch the commercial breaks – and made me hungry for Subway sandwiches.

Currently the focus of the network is all over the place, Mr. Pedowitz needs to rebrand the network and make it’s overall programming more cohesive. Perhaps it’s time to retire “America’s Next Top Model” and look at new reality programming that would directly attract the interest and participation of their viewers. They’re looking for their next big reality shows? How about something very down to earth and would attract viewers to want to enter and be a part of it, like offering some sort of competition series where the final prize is a full ride college scholarship? Or a series to help aspiring young writers to get into Hollywood, where people can compete to present their own original TV series script idea and the winner will be picked up by The CW or end up on theWB.com with some of TV’s hottest TV producers/head writers as the judges? Or maybe an open acting competitions looking for the next TV star and the winner will appear on one of The CW’s shows? “American Idol” is huge because literally anyone can win it and have their dreams become a reality, “America’s Next Top Model” doesn’t offer that kind of hope or aspiration – it only offers jiggle. The CW needs reality shows that its viewers feel like they can be part of – a series like that would be one that the network could then promote their entire line-up during it’s airing. With the Upfronts coming next month and the Fall schedules getting solidified, there’s not a lot of room to drastically readjust how the network is presenting itself currently. Change takes time, our hope is that Mr. Pedowitz will be able to take this little network and turn it into a network that it’s viewers would enjoy watching all week long. Changing how they brand, promote, and schedule their series will be the first steps on getting them into right direction.

Hellcats? TheEntertainmentHotline says HELL YEAH!

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010

By Kate Blake- Editor

If you haven’t caught the first two episodes of the CW’s latest series Hellcats you are missing a rare treat. Most prime time programming aimed at the youth market focuses on sex and rich kids having sex and the girls are waif thin – most look like addicts and the metrosexual males have the morals of alley cats and hairstyles that require more time to get ready than your average beauty queen.

Hellcats is different. It reminds me more of the solid WB programming that the network was originally founded on. The story focuses on Marti Perkins- a reluctant cheerleader who turns to competitive college cheerleading to fund her ambitions to finish college and make her dreams of becoming a lawyer come true. Her counterpart is Savannah Munroe the uber thoughtful, incredibly intense cheer squad captain who becomes Marti’s roommate. The two leads are played capably by Aly Michalka and Ashley Tisdale. Aly’s character is sexy, but driven and intense. She has issues with her mom Wanda- played by the ageless Gail O’Grady. Ashley plays Savannah – this week we met her family which includes her mom, the very proper Mrs. Munroe played by Stargate alum Teryl Rothery. The cast is filled out by an assortment of other actors- many Canadian ( the show is shot in Vancouver) whose characters we are being introduced to as well. The secondary characters lives are not being delved into too deep initially- the show is not overwhelming us with too much to start with which allows for stronger character connections. We get to meet the other cheerleaders and their stories as they unfold naturally- just as Marti is getting to know them.

Part Bring It On the show has heart and I love that the problems and backgrounds of the characters on the show are not out there fantasies. The cheerleaders work hard and are dedicated athletes. They have fun but are in it to win it. With so many reality programs that showcase shiftless, directionless idiots who want to do nothing more than tan, party and workout a show about young people striving toward goals that include teamwork, fellowship, balancing personal feelings and ambition and EDUCATION – these things help Hellcats stand out. Hellcats has started out strongly character focused and is growing with each episode much like my other favorite teen drama on the net- Life Unexpected. It is also why the one character Alice who is petty and jealous and only out for herself stands out in such sharp contrast and is pretty well disliked by all thanks to her actions.

Yes the girls wear short skirts. Yes there is a lot of skin and some sexy banter. People drink- though it should be noted that the people on the show shown imbibing so far have been stated as being over 21- the legal drinking age. When was the last time you saw a prime time show with the hot girl cracking books instead of cold beers?

Tom Welling who is the star of the longest running drama on the CW Smallville- is one of the shows executive producers and Tom is well aware of the responsibility the media has to presenting good moral character as well as drama. Check out the series- parents- you will be pleasantly surprised to find this drama about college kids is perfectly acceptable viewing for your tweens. It shows college life to be fun but hard work. Most of the cheerleaders are there to get their education and are on scholarships. The underlying theme of responsibility is timely and is presented in a way that is not preachy.

On the body image front- Michalka and Tisdale both do the dance work you see onscreen though they have doubles for the tumbling runs. All of the actors are fit but we see them fueling up on ribs, eggs and bagels. You need fuel to be a top class athlete. The cheerleaders come in a variety of body types as is required by their roles on the squad and though there is some talk about Marti being tall- I am yet to hear the F word spoken.  Nobody has been called fat so far- though having a character fight bulimia at some point would be accurate not just for cheerleaders but college girls.

On a programming note- since Hellcats is a CW series and not on one of the big networks- you do not have to worry about the show being overrun with stunt casting- there is no money for it at the network. This is a good thing as my biggest fear about Glee is that stunt casting will deflect the series from its roots as a fun show about outsiders trying to make their own unique mark with their talents. Catch Hellcats Wednesday nights on the CW after America’s Top Model.

Tribeca Film Festival On Demand: Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll Delivers

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

By Kate Blake- Editor TheEntertainmentHotline

This year the Tribeca Film Festival branched out with their new ON DEMAND program allowing movie fans all over to access their selections of bright and interesting films from your own home. We will be reviewing several of these over the next few days. Our first selection is the music biopic Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. It is the story of British new wave music icon Ian Dury. You may be asking yourself – who the hell is Ian Dury? Well- he was one of the key voices in the UK music scene in the late 70s and into the 80s. He was an amazingly talented entertainer who helped shape the music of the era. He was also an artisit and he did some acting. All of this with a tremendous physical disability which he never let stop him from doing anything.


Dury is played in the film by Andy Serkis ( Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies). His character is not a pleasant person. He is selfish and driven. He came down with polio at a young age and after surviving he spent his youth in a charity hospital that believed the disabled had to fight for ability to be as normal as possible and to push themselves harder than others because nobody would do it for them. A novel concept in today’s coddle everyone era. Ian in real life finished high school and went on to study painting before pursuing a career in music. The movie touches on his life as a musician and his life as a guy with a wife and two kids but nothing conventional in how he approaches the family unit – he and his wife live apart while both take lovers and it is not until many years later they finally divorce. Dury is an unlikely hero for the disabled – he writes a song ” Spasticus Autisticus” which was banned by most radio shows for being insulting- this was the song he was supposed to write to support the United Nations Year of the Disabled and managed instead to just piss people off. Ian was not a very lovable guy- but the film shows he was direct and honest.

Notable performances- Olivia Williams ( Dollhouse) plays his wife Betty who gives birth upstairs while Ian is having a rehearsal session downstairs, Naomie Harris ( Pirates of the Carribean 2 & 3) is Denise his long faithful and suffering girlfriend who puts up with Ian and his antics for way too long, Ray Winstone makes a memorable cameo as young Ian’s father who shows him how to fight and get ahead in the face of bullies. Young actor Bill Milner plays Ian’s son Baxter. We get to see Baxter come out of his shell and grow right alongside his father in the film. I enjoyed the film. The pounding music and driving lyrics were new to me though I have heard his top song Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll many times- I just never knew the story behind it. What surprised me the most was how many of Dury’s songs had a strong rap quality. Rhythmic lyrics, spoken not really sung, driving beat and killer riffs. Top notch music with a story not completely familiar to most Americans. Worth checking out.

Head to the Tribeca Film Festival site for how to view on Demand and where to see the movie in theaters.

Psych By Way Of Hitchcock…

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Psych – “Mr. Yin Present”
Season 4 Finale Review
By Michal – Staff Writer

Psych - Vertigo

As soon as Mary Lightly uttered the line, “Yang wasn’t working alone…” I knew I was in for a fun episode. Psych’s fourth season finale, “Mr. Yin Presents,” was an awesome homage to Hitchcock films and used the classic thrillers Psycho, North By Northwest, Vertigo, and Rear Window to frame the new “game” set up my Mr. Yang’s (Ally Sheedy) counterpart Mr. Yin.

I love shows that can bring back a character after nearly an entire season and as a viewer you still not only care about them and are excited by their return. I got far more excited about the reappearance of Mary Lightly (Jimmi Simpson) than I would like to admit, but he was as fun to watch in this episode as last year’s finale.

I don’t want to give too much away, but have to say I was impressed with James Roday’s writing and directing debut. He used the Hitchcock source material well and did a fantastic job of created a tightly paced episode that had tension and suspense in all the right places and was visually reminiscent of the classic flicks the episode draws from.

Overall, “Mr. Yang Presents” is an engaging, twisty episode and a great way to end the season. Each of the main characters gets to shine and it’s going to be a long couple of months until Psych returns this summer!

Don’t forget to tune in Wednesday, March 10th at 10/9C for the Psych season 4 finale!



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