The USA Formula

What do a CIA agent, psychic, concierge doctor, lawyer, ex-con artist, detective with OCD, and FBI agent have in common other than all having fairly awesome jobs? They are all characters on the USA network!  It’s their motto, “characters welcome.” They reel viewers in with their new and exciting characters, and honestly it works. Who wouldn't want to watch a show about any of those awesome people?  This title may be a bit misleading if you have never heard of the USA, but I like to think of this channel as entertainment television. USA is probably one of my favorite channels, but that is beside the point.  What I’m trying to say here is, USA has some really interesting and exciting shows that intrigue a lot of people… but they are not done well.  Maybe you love sort of good acting, cheesy writing, and non-believable dialogue. Don't worry, I find myself liking it too at times.

So what USA formula am I talking about? Well, as I’ve mentioned earlier, USA has found that using interesting characters is a way to get viewers. All of their shows have kind of the same set up. It's centered around the character with interesting qualities and their life at home and work. Now I'm not saying it's just USA, obviously every show out there has an interesting character that's centered around their life, but I feel like their shows are all a bit too similar.

For example, in 2009 they came out with a new drama called White Collar where a FBI agent teams up with an ex-con artist.  I actually enjoyed watching this show and thought it was a fairly innovative duo of crime fighters.  The show itself did pretty well and was picked up for multiple seasons.  Another show which just came out this year in June is called Suits. It's kind of scary how many similarities there are between these shows.  Suits also stars two men, one is a well established lawyer, the other a brilliant college dropout. The older guy in these two shows is the one with the actual job and ends up having to look out for the younger one who even though doesn't have a job is somewhat more knowledgeable in the subject of the job.  Now, these are just some of the basic ideas of the shows, but I think you get the idea.

What does this mean?  It means that maybe USA isn't the most original with their ideas. But does that make them bad? No, I don't think so. In fact I think they deserve more credit than they actually get.  In my opinion one of their best shows that ended a couple years ago was called Monk. This show is sort of like the role model for the other shows that they make.  It was pretty popular and actually well done.  In fact the show itself aired for a solid 8 seasons and the amazing Tony Shalhoub who played the obsessive compulsive disorder patient, was nominated for an Emmy every single season and won 3 times.  What I'm trying to say here is USA can make good shows, or at least make popular shows with good actors.


To end this strangely bi-polar blog post of being against something and then not, I will say one thing. USA network is pretty awesome.  If you're looking for shows that are interesting, funny, or thrilling (yes I did just purposefully use the three most common traits for good shows, come on I'm trying to get you to watch this channel!) then check it out.  So what if they don't have the best shows in the world, sometimes it's fun to just look past that and enjoy.

Pictures courtesy of hulu.com