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Graham Norton’s ITV series The Neighbourhood is the latest reality show to crash despite the star power at the helm and a promising premise.
The new gameshow with a £250,000 prize and a complex set follows a ‘neighbourhood’ of people forming alliances, keeping secrets and manoeuvring up the social ladder in order to secure the lucrative prize pot.
Since airing, the show has seen lows of 540,000 viewers and a lot of negative reviews from viewers – a far cry from what ITV would have been hoping for. And it’s not the first time a show with a big name at the helm has failed despite the stars being at the peak of their popularity.
It also doesn’t bode well that ITV has already released all the episodes on ITVX before the show has even finished airing, even though it was initially advertised as a weekly release. An episode dump is very rare for a linear UK reality TV show.
Last year, David Tennant’s Genius Game pulled the plug after one season following poor ratings and reaction, in the face of a rumoured £2.5m budget.
Meanwhile, national treasure Claudia Winkleman’s new chat show – off the back of the stratospheric success of The Traitors – hasn’t made the splash some might have hoped.
All this to say that there’s no denying that the face of a TV show plays a vital role, with the host guiding viewers through the choppy waters of a reality TV show, especially one with a brand new format.
But, where a big name might once have been enough to all but secure a show’s good standing in the long run, that simply doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.
‘I’m 37, I remember when you’d hear that X, Y, Z is going to host – like big brother with Davina McCall – like “I’ll give that a go, because I like her”,’ James Buckley-Thorp, reality star on The Inheritance, told Metro in a chat.
He added: ‘It doesn’t seem to be working in the same way. Celebrity-ism has become so wide now, and there are so many different niches, it’s very hard to find that one celebrity that will please the entire family.’
What’s more, when you go all in on high-profile talent, it adds more pressure for a show to deliver – and quickly.
Pointing to the recently-cancelled Inheritance as an example, this show was hosted by Rob Rinder and Elizabeth Hurley.
‘I think the expectation is ruining the whole purpose that we’re watching a reality TV game show. It sets it up for failure in a way.
‘And it seems to me, they use these, these big names [often expensive] aren’t turning around the viewership that they’re aiming for.’
As talent manager of stars like Grace Dent and Ross Kemp and media expert Alex Segel explained: ‘Before social media, there were really only TV stars or film stars. Now there are many more.
‘So everyone has a different version of who they consider famous in their life. Before creators became a thing, and there weren’t other people to watch. You would all have to watch Graham Norton.
‘You might still love him. You might still think he’s one of the best, which he is, but there are other people to watch as well.’
Similarly, it could be the case for Claudia Winkleman, whose format may have let her down.
Although it secured reasonable viewing figures, averaging around 1.5m, critics and fans have been harsher in their assessment as the fate of the show remains to be seen.
‘Claudia is, without a doubt, the number one TV presenter in the country, [but] things take time, and you have to let it breathe.
‘And number two, is this what people want? Do people want more chat shows right now? Every YouTube show that somebody watches right now is a chat show,’ Alex added, pointing to Joe Rogan and Diary of a CEO, among others.
It’s a similar story for Graham, where he said : ‘We’ve never seen Graham do a show like this. You just have to give it a moment. I think you have to give it at least two or three seasons to really find its feet.’
And in a world saturated by new reality TV formats that seem to come and go faster than you can blink (in recent years we’ve had Rise and Fall, Fortune Hotel, Handcuffed, Virgin Island, Gary Lineker’s new show, The Box and The Summit to name a few), grabbing viewers’ attention is a harder task than ever.
‘If it’s not hitting immediately, it’s very unlikely you’ll ever get a second season, even if you and figures get to above average,’ James reflected, firmly believing The Inheritance wasn’t given a fair shake.
Although the show premiered with 540,000 viewers, by the finale, it had grown to an average of 1.5m, taking catch-up figures into account, according to The Mirror.
Meanwhile, we may remember The Traitors as a megahit with Claudia as the defining presenter of the era, but this simply wasn’t the case.
The Strictly presenter was nowhere near as big as she is now, and the first episode pulled in still an impressive but considerably more modest 3.1m – the 38th most watched show that week.
The lightning in a bottle success ‘actually worked really well for Claudia, because the family could get together and watch without her own previous brand mixing in with this new show. The show worked, and now she is a very cool figure,’ James shared.
And it’s not the only one that has worked out of late. The Jonathan Ross-fronted Handcuffed on Channel 4 received a second season greenlight despite not cracking the top 50 with its finale.
There’s no denying broadcasters are trying to recreate The Traitors’ success, with a major star fronting their show into a bright future, but ultimately, it will be more hits than misses.
That doesn’t mean the risk isn’t worth it, however, as Alex ruminated.
‘Graham Norton didn’t need to take The Neighbourhood. He’s a megastar. He’s got his podcast, he’s got his books, he’s got Eurovision, he’s got the Graham Norton Show.
‘But he didn’t want to get stale. He’s taken a bit of a risk, and I think he should be applauded for that,’ he declared.
He concluded: ‘Ultimately, the bar is incredibly high. A format now has to be exceptional, not just good. And the reality is, most shows are good, but very few are truly standout.’
The Neighbourhood airs on ITV tonight at 9pm.
Metro has reached out to ITV and Graham Norton’s representatives for comment.
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