Networked Insights: FOX’s Pickups

NEW YORK: Mindy Kaling’s new comedy and the Kevin Bacon drama The Following are the most promising contenders out of FOX’s 2012-2013 pilot pickups, according to Sean Reckwerdt, lead television analyst at Networked Insights.

The New York-based company tracks conversations in social media to assess how audiences are responding to TV shows, taking into account the volume of conversations generated and the positive and negative sentiments. Using 100 as the base for an average show, Networked Insights gave The Mindy Project a Social Index ranking of 170.

“The Mindy Project looks like the best pick,” says Reckwerdt of the Universal Television and 3 Arts Entertainment comedy, which is being paired with New Girl on Tuesday nights. “Mindy Kaling has a huge social presence. The conversations since the trailers hit have been pretty positive. It’s a mix of New Girl and Parks and Recreation.”

Reckwerdt’s second top pick for FOX is The Following, which has a Social Index ranking of 151. He attributes much of the the buzz around the show to creator Kevin Williamson. “He is the real driving part behind the conversation,” Reckwerdt says. “He didn’t do well with The Secret Circle but people love The Vampire Diaries and they like his style.”

Kevin Bacon stars in the serial killer drama, slated to launch in midseason. “He is being discussed positively,” Reckwerdt adds.

The Following and NBC’s Revolution—exec produced by Supernatural creator Eric Kipke—are examples of the bigger networks seeking out showrunners who have a history of “creating intense fans on The CW,” Reckwerdt says.

Reckwerdt’s top three at FOX is rounded out by the comedy The Goodwin Games, which comes from the same team behind the CBS hit How I Met Your Mother. “A lot of comedies now are about the older Millennials trying to figure out where they are, what they’re doing—The Goodwin Games is definitely in that space. And it’s cute enough that people will probably like it. The buzz for it online has been reasonable for a comedy.” Networked Insights gives the midseason replacement a Social Index ranking of 87.

Two shows that Reckwerdt thinks won’t make the cut are the comedy Ben & Kate and the drama The Mob Doctor. On Ben & Kate, he notes, “From what I remember of last year’s conversations, this is going to go very much in the same route that BFF went on NBC…. Middle of the road [performance] and then dissipates after a couple of episodes.”

On The Mob Doctor, meanwhile, filling the slot vacated by House on Mondays at 9 p.m., Reckwerdt says, “Jordan Spiro [the lead actress] isn’t generating a ton of conversation. It’s being positioned as a House replacement. It’s just not generating a lot of conversation, the title is pushing people off a little bit. It’s just not grabbing people.”

For Networked Insights’ view on the NBC slate, click here.