The first two new dramas of the broadcast fall season premiere tonight. NBC previews procedural
The Mysteries of Laura after the finale of
America's Got Talent, while Fox will try to recapture the spirit of
Glee with teen drama
Red Band Society. Neither show exactly feels like a huge out-of-the-box hit in the making, so tonight's pre-premiere Wednesday is key.
The Mysteries of Laura gets a far better lead-in than it should ever see from local programming, while
Red Band has no original scripted competition in an hour that will soon be overstuffed with it. It's another one of those nights that's not about which network beats the other one; it's about whether
either network feels good about itself. Will viewers band together for
Laura or
Red Band Society? That's
The Question for Wednesday, September 17, 2014.
Of these two shows, I think
Red Band has better odds long-term, but that's more about the desperation of Fox than anything else. However, tonight
Laura may have the slightly better shot at exceeding the line. It should be pretty compatible with
America's Got Talent, and that show had a big performance finale on Tuesday.
Highest Rating Among Red Band Society and The Mysteries of Laura Over/Under: 1.65.
TO CLARIFY: "Over" wins if EITHER Red Band Society OR The Mysteries of Laura goes over the line, while "under" wins if NEITHER one goes over.
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