A Dozen Shows From 2011 - Which Ones Survived?

One thing you can say about the year 2011 is this.  It was a year in which a lot of new television shows debuted.

I don't have a full list of the shows available, but I would estimate it to be well over 150 new shows - if not more. 

And just as the case with many other television programs on television schedules over the years, many are hits, and many are misses.

How did the year 2011 rank?

Well, I took twelve random shows from the long list of ones that debuted in 2011, and I thought I'd do a then and now feature about each one.  Which ones are still on in 2016?  Which ones barely made it to 2012?  I've got some answers for you right here - along with my own personal commentary.

BOB'S BURGERS
Debuted January 9, 2011
6 Seasons so far, renewed for seventh

Bob's Burgers was a midseason replacement show for the FOX Network, and airing it during Sunday's animation block alongside "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy" was a great idea.  Created by Loren Bouchard, the show about the Belcher family business - a burger eatery that is situated near a funeral home and an apartment building.  It's a snarky comedy that balances running a business and taking care of a family - which can run on borderline crude in some episodes!  But, don't let that scare you away.  It's one of 2011's success stories - and although the show wasn't well received when it first aired, it's holding its own now!

CRIMINAL MINDS:  SUSPECT BEHAVIOR
Debuted February 16, 2011
Cancelled May 25, 2011

By all accounts, a spin-off of "Criminal Minds" should have worked.  After all, the entire run of the four CSI shows would have a total running time of thirty-six seasons!  And, "Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior" did have a fantastic cast.  With names like Forest Whitaker, Janeane Garofalo, and "Criminal Minds" actress Kirsten Vangsness as part of the cast, it had the formula to be another hit!  So, why did it miss the mark?  Ultimately low ratings sealed its fate.  And if not enough people are watching a show - no matter how well done it may be - it's hard for it to have a second year.  But another spinoff "Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders" debuted earlier this year and it has already gotten the green light for season two. 

BODY OF PROOF

Debuted March 29, 2011
Cancelled May 28, 2013

I don't know what it is about ABC lately, but they've been hit and miss when it comes to television shows.  For every "Lost", "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy" that exist, there are about a dozen other shows that didn't last that long.

To give "Body of Proof" credit, the show did eke out a three season run.  I credit that to the believability of Dana Delany as a medical examiner who uses the bodies of those recently deceased to solve crimes while balancing her hectic personal life.  And from the episodes that I've seen, it was a fairly good program.

In fact, at the time of the show's cancellation it was actually improving in the ratings!  It's really unknown why ABC would drop the program, but then again, it's not the first blunder ABC would make.  It's too bad the rumours weren't true about it moving to a new network because I think that this show was cancelled way too soon.

WORKAHOLICS
Debuted April 6, 2011

6 Seasons so far, renewed for seventh

Of all the shows listed on this look back at 2011 television, this is the only one I have not yet seen.  Mainly because I don't subscribe to Comedy Central.  But from what I have heard about this show, it's quite good, and I've been told I'm missing out.  Created by and starring Blake Anderson, Anders Holm, and Adam DeVine, the show depicts three college acquaintances who refuse to let go of their college years despite sharing a cubicle at the telemarketing company they work for.  Maybe that's the secret to having a television show last...debut it on a cable network instead of the Big Three...

FRANKLIN & BASH
Debuted June 1, 2011
Cancelled October 22, 2014

This is another case of a show ending too soon.  This was the show that brought Mark-Paul Gosselaar back to television once more following "Saved By The Bell" and "NYPD Blue", and paired him up with movie actor Breckin Meyer in a comedic drama set at a law firm.  When the show debuted on TNT, it became an instant hit.  In the UK, people referred to it as Ally McBeal with balls!  How cheeky!  The show did have a modest four season run and attracted both Jane Seymour and Heather Locklear as cast members which added to the intrigue.  I still say that it should have run longer...but at least Gosselaar and Meyer stayed good friends.  I most recently saw both of them on an episode of "Celebrity Name Game"!

SWITCHED AT BIRTH
Debuted:  June 16, 2011

4 Seasons so far, renewed for fifth

Sadly, I just recently discovered this show about a year ago - and now I hear that the fifth season - set to premiere in early 2017 - will be the show's last.  Airing on ABC Family and ABC Spark, the show might seem like a tired old cliche at first.  Two women give birth, and accidentally take the wrong child home and don't find out until several years later.  Well, what if one of those children had a hearing impairment and was sent to live with hearing parents, while the other child could hear perfectly fine but had deaf parents?  That's the hook that drew me in. 

In all seriousness, the show is superb, and for once we finally get to see a show that focuses on the hearing impaired community with actors who have a hearing disability and can only communicate via sign language.  Both Vanessa Marano and Katie LeClerc do a fine job in their roles as Bay and Daphne.  In the case of LeClerc, she purposely learned sign language at seventeen after learning that she has a condition that can eventually cause her to lose her hearing, so she wanted to be prepared for it.

It's a very good show - perhaps one of the best of the year!

BAR RESCUE
Debuted July 17, 2011
Currently airing Season 4

When this show debuted in the summer of 2011 on Spike, it was unknown just how successful it would be.  By 2016, it has aired over one hundred episodes, and has really showed all of us the best and worst of the bar business.

Based off of the popular show "Kitchen Nightmares", bar expert Jon Taffer goes to bars all over the United States and uses what he has learned in his near 40-year career to help other bar owners get out of debt and make money.  Sometimes the solutions are easy to fix, such as a new name, new look, or changing the cocktail menu.  Sometimes, the fix is harder, such as dealing with employees who steal, or fixing a building up to code.  Whatever the challenge, it's one that he is willing to take.

Well, except for those people who owned that O-Face Bar in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  Those people were beyond help.

FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS
Debuted August 5, 2011
Cancelled September 9, 2011

Some people might like the movie "Friends With Benefits".  And, let's face it.  Some people like BEING friends with benefits.  But this television show was something that very few people liked.  And this show was plagued with problems from the very beginning.  For one, it was originally pitched to ABC, but the network denied it, so it was instead aired on NBC as a summer replacement series.  But audiences were tuning out after episode one, and the series met a swift end just thirty-six days after it premiered.  Tough break.

THE JEREMY KYLE SHOW (U.S. VERSION)
Debuted September 19, 2011
Cancelled September 13, 2013

Now, I had to make a note that this is the American version of the show.  The original UK version debuted in July 2005 and is still airing eleven years later.  And really, you could consider Jeremy Kyle the British version of Maury Povich in a way, as he does almost the same kind of shows that Maury does (mainly paternity tests).  The difference was that whereas Maury Povich often showed sympathy towards his guests, Jeremy Kyle tells it like it is without apologizing for how he feels.  Well, Jeremy tried to make his UK based talk show work in the United States as well.  The problem is that there were too many shows just like his in the United States, and it kind of got lost in the shuffle.  His American talk show only lasted two seasons.

2 BROKE GIRLS
Debuted:  September 19, 2011
5 Seasons, renewed for sixth

One question.  How is this show still on the air?  Seriously, how?

UNFORGETTABLE
Debuted:  September 20, 2011
Cancelled:  January 22, 2016

This is a show that got bounced around so many times that many people might be surprised to learn that the last episode only aired four months ago.  When the show debuted in September 2011, star Poppy Montgomery had just come off of "Without A Trace" a couple of years earlier.  She played the role of Carrie Wells, a female officer who had a photographic memory that assisted her in solving cases alongside her partner and ex-boyfriend Al Burns.  The premise of the show was good, and it stayed on CBS for three seasons until the network decided to pull the plug.  This prompted A&E to pick up the show for the 2015-2016 season, a move that while filled with great intentions failed to deliver - and "Unforgettable" quickly became forgotten.

HELL ON WHEELS
Debuted November 6, 2011
Currently airing Season 5

This is a show that is set to air its final episode sometime in 2016 on AMC, but when it first debuted, it got a lot of positive attention.

It is a show that is set in the middle of the 19th century - specifically 1865.  The first episode took place days after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and set the stage for the main plot - the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad across the United States.  It's also a show that I have recently discovered now that I subscribe to AMC, and I'm starting to wish that I had watched it earlier.  It's quite good!

So there you have it.  12 shows that debuted in 2011 - all with varying success rates.  Which ones were your favourites?  And can you add to my list?