ABC’s carefully considered attempts to help audiences relive their childhoods have clicked. TVMoJoe spoke with ABC alternative series chief Robert Mills about why
Elizabeth Banks hosting Press Your Luck. Photo: Eric McCandless/ABC The ’70s have been super to ABC the past few weeks. Last month, Live in Front of a Studio Audience — the Jimmy Kimmel–produced special featuring live re-creations of All in the Family and The Jeffersons — was a surprise smash, reaching more than 20 million viewers .
I’m always wrong. I can never really predict anything. But honestly, I would have been shocked if it didn’t do well. I remember the promos during the NBA Finals were really cutting through and it was like, “If anything is going to have a chance, it’s this.” Plus, the syndicated numbers [for regular Feud] were a bit of a harbinger, too.
Yes, they can be cost-effective, especially if you do a lot of them. But we’re not looking to just do cheap programming. I remember, one producer came in and was trying to be complimentary, but it felt a little bit like a backhanded compliment: “Oh, I love what you guys are doing. You’re playing moneyball.” That’s true, but I want these to be blue chips. It’s great that the floor for success is lower, but I actually think Press Your Luck and Card Sharks have breakout potential.
With Card Sharks, we’d talked about over the years with Fremantle, which also owns Press Your Luck. I called up Jen Mullin at Fremantle and I said, “You know what? I think it’s time to do Press Your Luck and Card Sharks,” and she said, “Let’s do it.” Some of the best things, they’re happy accidents. This was one. [NBC] was having a lot of success with live musicals, and then Fox did Grease, which really raised the bar. I kept getting asked [by senior ABC management], “What are we doing to get in the live space?” I just happened to be talking to Jimmy on the phone, he was asking what’s going on, and I said, “Oh, we’re really trying to get in the live event space.
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