Kathy Bates says NBC treated 'Harry's Law' like S--.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 6:22pm

Kathy Bates is still unhappy with how her NBC treated her show, 'Harry's Law'. It does not surprise me that she said this.

“I think they [NBC] treated us like s–t,” said Bates, when responding to a question about whether or not she had reservations about returning to television. “They kicked us to the curb. I think they disrespected us, I think they disrespected our seven to 11 million viewers every week and I think they’re getting what they deserve.”

Later, Bates clarified that the cancellation of the show in May 2012 left her stunned and hurt. “You know, it was just a real difficult emotional thing,” she said. “Going to work every day…you create a family. For me…it was just delightful for me to go to work every day and to lose that on the whim was hard. I loved the part, I loved the people I worked with and it was astounding to feel that as an older person, you weren’t wanted, your audience wasn’t wanted on television.”

“I think they had a really wonderful show but to me, I’m very excited to be moving on to this [American Horror Story] because it’s a magnificent character and very different from Harry and I’m very thankful to be getting to play it,” Bates added. “Easy come, easy go, I guess.”






Kathy Bates on 'Harry's Law': NBC 'treated us like s--' Updated On: 8/2/13 at 06:22 PM

[Playbilly]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 6:27pm

Grow up Kathy. What business are you in?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 6:27pm

Tell it to Brooklyn Bridge, Pushing Daisies, My So Called Life and all the other great shows that were cancelled prematurely.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 6:36pm

It's not like people didn't say that about those shows also.

[Addison D.]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 6:39pm

Yeah--I'm not sure the ubiquity of what she's describing makes her experience any less legitimate or any less real to her.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 6:47pm

They left her feeling all... ooogie.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 6:52pm

Hang on Kathy, when the world realizes there is a hole in their entertainment life, the show will be revived like "It's A Living" was.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 6:53pm

I do remember when Harry's Law was cancelled that there was a bit of doubt about whether it was truly safe or on the chopping block. It was one of the highest-rated shows on NBC at the time, it's just that pretty much every single member of its' audience was outside the 18-49 demo, so NBC wasn't making any money off all the eyeballs it's highest-rated show was attracting.

Posted: 8/2/13 at 7:18pm

Kathy, you treat a puppy like a puppy and a lion like a lion so it follows you'd treat that show as sh!t.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 7:23pm

OMG she's gonna effin hobble you

Posted: 8/2/13 at 7:39pm

And I like her- a lot. But that show? Meh.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 7:48pm

Mr Man!

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 7:51pm

The suits @ NBC & other networks are only interested in young viewers. Old viewers can sit on an egg & rotate as far as they are concerned.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 7:53pm

I find that can be pretty pleasant.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 8:10pm

A couple of huevos bouncing off one's chin ain't bad from time to time. But I do digress.
I would assume that everyone involve in a show loves it and doesn't really have proper prospective on how good or not it is. Of course they are going to be upset if it is cancelled after a brief run.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 8:55pm

The advertisers care about young viewers. The suits at NBC & other networks are paid by the advertisers. Follow the money.

NBC makes plenty of bad decisions worthy of blame. The appeal to the 18-49 demo isn't a mistake of their making.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 9:11pm

The whole problem was the Demo rating that was non existent, but the whole demo thing in the US is really odd to me. It should go on how many are turning it to watch the show. I think it's appalling that if you are over a certain age in the states you don't count when it comes to TV. Though if networks are so obsessed with that age demo then why make a show like Harry's Law in the first place that is clearly going to appeal to an older audience? It's the same with Blue Bloods though their small demo is enough to keep them alive on Friday nights.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 9:35pm

It's not the age of the demographic alone that's the problem. It's that the younger demographics actually spend money and buy the products that advertise and pay the bills.

If 7 million people tune in to see a show, the advertisers want to make sure that not only will their product be seen, but it will be purchased.

Older demographics tune in and watch, but sit on their wallets.

That's the problem.

It's not ageist so much as capitalist.

Even back in the '50s, people understood that. If they liked a show, they would actually buy a sponsor's product because of it. They wouldn't just boycott the companies and sponsors that pissed them off. They would support the ones who paid for the shows they watched.

Today, that's not the case.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 9:48pm

Well, you did see Chuck fans getting a big campaign to eat Subway sandwiches to keep it alive, but other than that it's not common, certainly.

And by "big" I mean, they made a small but noticeable-enough wave to get curious media mention.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 10:01pm

The advertisers know who buys their products. They also know the demographics of the people who watch the shows.

So they spend their ad money in front of the right audience. It's really pretty simple.

It's misleading just to look at ratings to judge a TV show's success. What we don't see is how much money the network or channel is bringing in as far as ad revenue. How much can they sell their airtime for.

That's how you judge a show's success, at least from the network's perspective. It has to do with the profit they're making, not (necessarily) how many people are watching. Those two things don't always go hand in hand.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 8/3/13 at 1:35pm

If they'd gone with my suggested title "Harry's Twat?" it would still be on the air.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 8/3/13 at 2:10pm

Yeah, I don't think the implication of referencing Kathy Bates's vagina would have really pulled in anyone from the demographic they were hoping.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 8/3/13 at 2:25pm

Just to add to what best12bars wrote, I believe the thinking isn't that we who are over 49 don't spend money, but that our buying habits are more or less set in stone.

The thinking is the 18-49 demo is still open to changing what they buy.

There are basic cable shows (a lot of true crime) that do court the older demographic. They seem to have a lot of ads for reverse mortgages.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 8/3/13 at 2:35pm

At least Roxy would have felt his demographic was considered, AEA.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 8/3/13 at 7:15pm

If you watch different enough TV shows, the commercials you'll see are pretty hilariously different if you pay attention.

Cars, for example: American Idol gets lots of sleek sedans riding through cities at night, and NFL games get pickup trucks trudging through mud and having logs thrown in the back. It'll still be Ford buying ads, but marketing very carefully.