Could “Made In Jersey” Be the First Cancellation of the New TV Season?

The new TV season is now in full swing, and the question looms who may suffer the indignity of being the first new show cancelled.  Sadly, the show that has New Jersey as its backdrop to a degree, and as part of its title could be the favorite right now to disappear.

Made In Jersey seems like a safe concept for a drama, which is why network TV is getting their tails handed to them by cable TV original drama.  Nothing personal for this CBS show, but successful dramas these days have an edge, are topical, and are not afraid to push the boundaries to places we have never seen before.  After Episode 1, Made In Jersey has none of these things going for it.

Made In Jersey had 2 successful shows sandwiched around it for Friday night, which should have helped draw some viewers - CSI: NY @ 8pm on Friday had over 9 Million viewers, Blue Bloods @ 10pm was around 11 Million, while Made in Jersey barely eclipsed 7.5 Million viewers in their 9pm debut.

Take this, along with low ratings (1.1 Nielsen rating among viewers 18-49), and poor reviews, the show with New Jersey as a part of it will have a major uphill climb to survive the next few weeks let alone this new TV season.

Nothing against this CBS show but it does not seem original, and what it does is not done with great success.

I've seen critics call this show everything from a female version of My Cousin Vinny, to "Legally Brunette" and "Snooki's Law" - not the kind of buzz this new show needs.  I also noticed that the main character is not even from America let alone New Jersey.  This is not a knock on Janet Montgomery, who a very talented actress from the U.K. who did a wonderful job in the Oscar winning film Black Swan and had a fun season on Entourage (as Jennie in 2010), but she seems to be going over the top trying to be "Jersey".

Yes the show is playing a Jersey stereotype, has jokes on The Garden State, but the right cast may have made this work a little better.  If you are playing up Jersey and a fish out of water drama, then understanding New Jersey would be helpful.  CBS could have easily looked at Jodi Lyn O'Keefe to pull off this role.  She may by 6 years older than Montgomery but looks about the same age, has worked for CBS in the past (5 seasons on Nash Bridges between 1996-2001), is known in recent years for Prison Break, and grew up on the Jersey Shore!

This Friday is crucial for this show to have any hope to get the season in full at least.  Expect CBS to maybe pull the plug if the show viewership dips below 5 Million this week.  Hate to see anything with New Jersey involved not succeed, but this just seemed wrong from the beginning.