Television can be a tough industry. Many shows don’t make it past the pilot stage. Network TV, despite being seen as outdated, is extremely competitive. A show’s success heavily relies on its ratings. Low viewership can end a show’s chances quickly.
This reality is something Joel McHale’s character would teach the millennials in the short-lived sitcom, The Great Indoors. The show saw initial success in its first season in 2016. However, its ratings dropped sharply in the latter part of the season, leading to its cancellation in 2017.
While some claimed the show was canceled due to “cancel culture,” the real issue was a poor decision by executives to change its lead-in.
Some Millennials Were Aroused by ‘The Great Indoors’ Premise Scandal
The Great Indoors, created by Mike Gibbons, follows Jack (McHale), an outdoors magazine journalist who becomes the boss of millennials after the magazine switches to digital. Jack’s old-school approach clashes with the tech-savvy behavior of his new team.
The show also features Stephen Fry as Roland, the magazine’s producer, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Christine Ko as young employees, Chris Williams as Jack’s bar owner friend, and Susannah Fielding as Brooke, who is both Jack’s boss and Roland’s daughter. Throughout the show, Jack goes through various romantic situations.
In 2016, millennials were often criticized, and The Great Indoors reflects this attitude. The show premiered just before the contentious Presidential election, a time when discussing “toughness” was common.
Though not politically charged, the show imagines a world where a seasoned journalist teaches millennials how to handle life outside their digital screens. It also humorously highlights Jack’s vanity.
The show faced controversy among millennials. At a press conference, a heated debate erupted when the show’s pilot was discussed. Gibbons explained that millennials were upset by jokes about their generation being coddled.
This led to a tense exchange with Stephen Fry defending the show, which only intensified the discussion. Gibbons clarified that while he respects millennials, he believes they often focus too much on themselves.
Gibbons defended The Great Indoors as a show that pokes fun at all generations. When asked if the show’s simplistic premise would affect its reception, he joked about making America great again—a phrase that was controversial at the time.
A millennial audience member questioned whether the show was trying to alienate millennials. McHale responded that if offending millennials was the goal, it was working.
The Great Indoors had a promising start with 8.8 million viewers and a 1.9 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. However, its ratings fell after the first season. The show aired well after The Big Bang Theory initially but was moved to Mondays. Ratings dropped significantly without the lead-in support. The show failed to get a second season.
Even though network TV sitcoms are less popular today, having a strong lead-in like The Big Bang Theory is still crucial. The Great Indoors didn’t benefit from this support and faded away as a less memorable show.
If it had kept the strong lead-in, it might have had a different fate. The show’s failure to retain its audience shows the importance of strategic scheduling in television.
