Stars Get Better With Age

Maturity draws audiences.

Q scores are highly prized within the television industry, but they are largely unknown outside of it. A Q score measures how likeable a star is and how recognizable his or her name is among viewers. The top five Q scores among men and women in primetime show that youth is not the deciding factor when it comes to popularity.

At the top of the men's list is CSI: Crime Scene Investigation's William Petersen (Gil Grissom), and fellow CSI cast member George Eads (Nick Stokes) comes in at number five. Eads is the youngest man on the list at 41, and Petersen is the second-oldest at 55. The women's list also contains several members of the CSI cast. Marg Helgenberger (Catherine Willows), 49, is at number two, and Jorja Fox (Sara Sidle), 39, rounds out the list at number five. "You can have older leads attracting younger audiences," Henry Schafer, executive vice president of Marketing Evaluations, told the Miami Herald. "Age doesn't necessarily matter for some of these people. It's the type of programs they've been associated with over the years that, in some ways, dictates the potential for their future success."

"We make a mistake when we think the only people we want to watch on TV or in movies are people in our own demographic," said Robert Thompson from the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University. Steve Leblang, vice president of planning and research for the FX channel, agreed. "I don't believe there's any correlation between the age of your stars and the age of your audience," he said. "There is something to be said for the idea that people of any age want to watch compelling television, no matter who it stars or what it's about."

The original article can be found at the Miami Herald.

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