Procedural Series Make Sure Viewers Are Not 'Left Behind'

CSI creator Anthony Zuiker and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation executive producers Naren Shankar and Carol Mendelsohn compared procedural and serial television shows to explain why some get the glory and others get the longevity.

Serialized television series feature ongoing story arcs, but procedural series have stories that are contained within each hourlong episode. "People in this landscape want to have the self-confidence that if they're going to spend an hour of time to watch television that they won't be left behind," Zuiker told the Los Angeles Times. "If you have to do a lot of legwork to catch up, your level of engagement may not come back."

Telling a story in each episode is important in a procedural show like CSI, but characters are also important to the series. Mendelsohn revealed that procedurals "get a bum rap" due to the assumption that these programmes lack the character development provided in a serialized show. However, "You can't have a good procedural without great characters," Mendelsohn said.

While serial shows tend to get the critical acclaim, procedurals such as the CSI franchise tend to last longer and pull in larger audiences. One difference is the venue: procedurals do well on broadcast networks like CBS, but cable networks have more leeway to create unique serialized dramas. "The problem for the broadcast network is they still have to do mainstream programming," Shankar explained. "Cable can do niche programming -- the best drama at last year's Emmys was Mad Men, which people love, but the audience for that show is very small. For a mainstream audience, procedurals are highly conducive for the audiences they want to attract."

The original article is from the Los Angeles Times.

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