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ABC Ties Friendship Bracelet on "FlashForward," Picks Up Series for Full Season

I wonder if the victims of the blackout saw this coming.

It's hardly a surprise but ABC has today announced that it has handed out a full season order to serialized sci-fi drama series FlashForward, which recounts the aftermath of a global incident in which the world's population glimpsed visions of their future six months from now. (UPDATE: The network has ordered twelve additional episodes of FlashForward, bringing the season total to 25 installments, per E! Online's Jennifer Godwin.)

The ABC Studios-produced series, which stars Joseph Fiennes, Sonya Walger, John Cho, Jack Davenport, and a sprawling ensemble cast too numerous to list, has aired three episodes to date and has fared well in the ratings, improving the Thursday at 8 pm timeslot by 32 percent compared to former inhabitant Ugly Betty, which returns this Friday in its new home on Friday nights.

The news comes on the heels of full season pickups for ABC's comedies Modern Family, Cougar Town, and The Middle.

Here's what ABC had to say about FlashForward's performance so far: "From 8:00-9:00 p.m. on Thursday, ABC’s FlashForward ranks No. 1 in Adults 18-49, leading CBS’ time-period veteran Survivor: Samoa. On its series debut telecast, the new ABC drama became the first regular program since Friends in 2004 to beat Survivor in the key young adult sales demo. The ABC freshman is an exceptionally strong draw among Adults 18-34, dominating its time period and qualifying as TV’s No. 1 new drama series this season. The new series is greatly improving its time period year to year for ABC, boosting the hour by 1.8 million viewers and by 32% in Adults 18-49 over the same nights last year. Based on DVR playback during season-premiere week, FlashForward finished as TV’s biggest freshman gainer, as its numbers jumped by 2.0 million viewers (12.5 million to 14.5 million) and 8-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point (4.1 rating to 4.9 rating) from the initially reported next-day numbers to DVR finals."

What do you think of the FlashForward pickup? Is it wishful thinking on ABC's part that the series will develop into a Lost-sized hit or is it a justified reward? Discuss.
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Comments

Kevin Sole said…
I'm enjoying it in a completely leery sense. I don't know, perhaps it's because I read the book many years ago, but they're making such a fuss over what CAUSED the flashforward, whereas in the book, it's made perfectly obvious -- the focus was, instead, how the people were affected by it, whether it was possible to change the future once you knew it.

But, on the other hand, I am giving it a chance BECAUSE I read the book, and it was so absolutely interesting that I'm hoping the show absorbs some of the creativity it showed.
10/12/2009
OldDarth said…
I am in the same boat as Kevin, though FF was never one of my favourite Robert J Sawyer's books.

The dearth of characters to empathize with is really hurting this.

It may take a Lost connection - hint, hint - to kick start the show.
10/12/2009
Unknown said…
I was glad to see the writers deviate from the book. However, I was about to give it up because I feared we viewers would be left hanging after a sudden cancellation. Now that's not happening, so I can move on to enjoy watching it.
10/12/2009
Drew said…
Of course, I hope it gets better, because this show is really underwhelming and shows little sign of improvement.
10/13/2009
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