TV Revivals: Should another Debra Messing show in ‘The Mysteries of Laura’ return?
Already this year, 2017 has shown itself to be the year of Debra Messing shows coming back on the air. We already have received the super-wonderful news that “Will & Grace” will be coming back for another batch of episodes, so why not start to think about “The Mysteries of Laura” while we’re at it?
When you think about it for a minute, Messing has this innate ability to star in shows that attract a loyal following, even if they don’t stick around on the air. Much of what we saw here about “The Mysteries of Laura” could also be applied to “Smash,” an ambitious series whose greatest fault may have been premiering on a broadcast network with too high of a ratings threshold to meet. (We wish streaming was more prevalent at the time it first came out.)
Given that “Laura” is still a pretty-recent show to come off the air, we do think there is some fun that could come out of wondering if it could return — that is especially the case now when you consider Messing’s return to NBC with the hit sitcom. It’s not a gig that will take her the entire year to do, so there may be some time here and there for some additional projects.
Why it should be considered – When you think about its ratings in retrospect for season 2, they really weren’t too bad. The 1.1 it averaged in the 18-49 demographic is close the average that “Blindspot” is getting for its second season in that same timeslot; its ratings were also more consistent over the course of the season, and “Laura” averaged more than 1.5 million live viewers than “Blindspot” currently. We’re not trying to rag the Jaimie Alexander series — it’s rather good — we’re just trying to emphasize how the “Laura” cancellation may have been a mistake. It’s reminiscent in a way of ABC and “Body of Proof,” which is a decision the network has expressed some regret over.
Aside from these numbers alone, this is the sort of show that has an evergreen quality to it given that mystery shows are always popular, and tend to reach a fairly wide audience even without generating a ton of publicity. Look at CBS and “Blue Bloods,” a dominant show even if most younger viewers have never even heard of it. This is a show you could bring back and air on almost any night — it wouldn’t need a lead-in at all to get decent numbers.
Also, as we mentioned, “Will & Grace” coming back could boost the profile of anything else with Messing’s name attached to it.
Why it won’t be – The biggest reason is that it was brought in from an outside studio in the first place in Warner Bros. TV, which means that there’s less of an incentive for NBC to consider a revival as there would be something done in-house. Of course, we’d love to see CBS give consideration to the show for a potential summer run, but it’s hard to see that happening — wouldn’t they have made a move on the property by now given that they’ve got great Warner Bros. connections?
Would you ever want to see “The Mysteries of Laura” back? Share in the comments below!