Comedies that have battled schedule slots
TV schedulers have a lot of power. We never know their names, they never appear at awards ceremonies or such like, but these individuals can make or break a TV show by themselves.
There are all kinds of slots in this world. If you're into gambling, the best new slots are online fruit machines that pay you out cash; if you're into Scalextric, then slot car racing will be your thing, but for sitcom producers it is the TV schedule slots that matter the most.
Whether your show is placed in primetime or a 'graveyard' slot; if it follows on from a popular programme (thus inheriting any viewers who just keep their television on); what's on other rival channels at the same time; and which channel within the network you're on (e.g. Channel 4 versus E4) can all impact on whether you get enough viewers tuning in, and whether those are the right kind of viewer too (i.e. one who will find your show funny).
Here's three shows that had odd scheduling:
Outnumbered
Whilst Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton's family-based comedy went on to become a huge show, the first series in 2017 was shown at 10:35pm, when a lot of parents who would relate to the situations it depicted were already be in bed.
To make matters worse, the series was broadcast nightly, so it was hard for people to keep up with the episodes. BBC iPlayer didn't exist in 2007, so if you missed an episode, it was much harder to catch-up on!
To add to all those woes, the BBC picked August to put the series out in. Traditionally, this is not a good month to launch a new programme, as everyone is pre-occupied with summer activities.
Luckily, Outnumbered did get a second series, and in 2008 moved to a pretty nice 9pm slot on BBC One. The rest is history.
Ghosts
On the face of it, the first series of Ghosts had a good slot on BBC One: 9:30pm. So why are we including it in this list?
Well, as has since been proven, the show is super-popular for families to sit down together to watch the antics of the residents of Button House.
9:30pm is past the bedtimes of most children. The BBC saw sense with Series 2, and moved the show to 8:30pm. It's only an hour difference, but it allowed many more younger viewers to see it too, and families have since flooded to it.
The watershed may be a factor here too. Shows that are broadcast before 9pm are generally considered suitable for family viewing, and thus by moving the show before the watershed, the BBC indicated to those who hadn't seen it before that it was actually a comedy they could allow the kids in their life to see too.
The Persuasionists
Sometimes shows move in the schedule for good reason.
2010 advertising agency sitcom The Persuasionists had great people both in front of camera and behind it, but viewers turned off in droves. And the press really dug the boot in with their reviews too.
As each episode progressed and fewer and fewer people tuned in each time, it became clear the show couldn't hold on to its 10pm Wednesday slot - a key time for the BBC Two.
Spot the point at which the channel decided to cut it losses. Episode 1: Wednesday 10pm; Episode 2: Wednesday 10pm; Episode 3: Wednesday 10pm; Episode 4: Thursday 11:20pm; Episode 5: Thursday 11:20pm...
The Persuasionists didn't even manage to hold on to that Thursday night 'graveyard' slot though. The last episode was moved to 11:45pm on Saturday night.