The day I thought would never come has finally arrived, I am sorry to say that I am here defending the awful hot mess that is The Chew.
This is not something that I take lightly; I think that the cancelation of All My Children and One Life to Live was premature and mishandled from the top for years! The fact that the shows got in such an awful state that cancelation was even thought about is enough to say that something from the top needed to be changed, but nevertheless the shows are ending on ABC and thankfully rebooting with Prospect Park.
With that said, as the air date for the All My Children replacement draws ever closer the soap opera community has become more and more vicious towards not only the show but the cast and thus indirectly the crew working behind the scenes.
People on twitter are all rallying around PRAYING that the show is an abysmal failure, directly targeting specific host and telling them that their show sucks and that SOAPS RULE!
On one hand I totally get where these twitterers are coming from, these shows that have been touted as “More then just a story, a legacy” are being shoved aside for shows that will never have the cultural impact or resonate with viewers the way the soaps did. However, with that said the way that we have gone about attacking the show is wrong and JUST as bad if not worse then what Brian Frons, Jeff Zucker, etc have done to us in the past.
These shows are so much more than just a panel of talking heads discussing how to properly set a table and fix a meal. They involve interns just breaking into the industry, cameramen that rely on the show as a source of income for their families survival. Single parents who can barely stay afloat with the price of living. So when you are saying “Screw the chew” and wishing that the show tanks after week one you are indirectly targeting these innocent people. YES they should have never canceled your favorite show and yes if the show fails then it in a way proves that soaps are worth salvaging but to directly wish people out of a job is 100% WRONG.
WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS! I know we are, I have seen this community rally around one another and create something amazing and wonderful, but to sit here and belittle and attack a program and wish hundreds of people out of work to join the already increasing number of people without work isn’t right.
So what do I advise we do instead? Support Prospect Park! Every time you feel the urge to bash the chew use that energy to say something positive about Prospect Park! Show ABC that they made the wrong choice by making iAMC and iOLTL the most successful transition from one production company to another and just ignore the chew. It will do what it does. If it succeeds or fails it changes NOTHING for us in the end. If the Chew dies I can promise you that ABC won’t run crying to Prospect Park demanding that they give the shows back. ABC will simply create another talker/ game show to fill the void and when it fails do the same thing over and over again until someone wizens up and the soap opera genera is rebooted.
My point is that we are better than this. We are better than Frons and the rest of the idiot executives. Wish the cast and crew best of luck and vote with the power of your remote and twitter page by just ignoring the series and let nature run its course. Its Darwinism out there in the television landscape and only the strong will truly survive. But really consider what the effect of your message really is on the normal person and what you are really saying if you look at it from someone on the production room floors point of view.
Do you agree with me? Or am I full of it and we just need to tell ABC/ Brian Frons/ ETC that the Chew SUCKS AND DESERVES TO END AND FIRE EVERYONE SCREW THE CONSEQUENCES!? Let me know in the comments bellow or on twitter @soapwikijohn
