Because next week begins its fourth season, and if it completes that season, that’ll bring it up to around 85 episodes — not quite the magic number for syndication, but close. So Fox is selling it into syndication and discovering that it brings a pretty good price for a show that’s never really been a hit. Be interesting to see if it’s as successful in syndication as the studio and syndicators seem to expect. It’s the kind of show you’d think would do well in syndication — a multi-camera comedy with youth appeal — but the quasi-serialized nature of the show and constant references to previous events might bring it perilously close to the kind of show that almost never succeeds in syndication, the show where you need to have seen previous episodes to know what’s going on.
Because next week begins its fourth season, and if it completes that season, that’ll bring it up to around 85 episodes — not quite the magic number for syndication, but close. So Fox is selling it into syndication and discovering that it brings a pretty good price for a show that’s never really been a hit. Be interesting to see if it’s as successful in syndication as the studio and syndicators seem to expect. It’s the kind of show you’d think would do well in syndication — a multi-camera comedy with youth appeal — but the quasi-serialized nature of the show and constant references to previous events might bring it perilously close to the kind of show that almost never succeeds in syndication, the show where you need to have seen previous episodes to know what’s going on.
(Link Via Todd.)