Hart Hanson Wants You To Watch 'Backstrom'

Even for the most jaded veteran, being part of the television industry can be a frustrating way to make a living. No matter how successful you might be, there's no guarantee that your next show will find the same level of acclaim. In fact, TV history suggests that your next project won't be as well-received, despite your best efforts.

The problem is that at the end of the day, television is a collaborative medium. It's not enough to have a great idea or a talented cast and crew. It helps to have an experienced and skilled showrunner, but a lot of really good showrunners are running terrible shows. You also need the right kind of promotions help from the network, a helpful time slot and luck with some intangibles that spell the difference between an audience tuning into your show and leaving it unwatched on their DVR until you're canceled. Some of it just gets down to luck and luck often rewards the stupid and the undeserving.

On paper, "Backstrom" should have been a solid hit when it premiered on Fox earlier this year. It was created by Hart Hanson, whose procedural drama "Bones" is currently wrapping up its 10th season. Aside from the ample acting skills of lead Rainn Wilson, the impressively strong ensemble includes Dennis Haysbert in what might be the best role of his TV career. There aren't any sure things in network television, but "Backstrom" should have stood a decent chance of finding its audience.

And yet with all it has going for it, "Backstrom" has been struggling in the ratings. It's fair to say that the initial reviews of the show were mixed and its Thursday timeslot finds the show competing directly opposite "How To Get Away With Murder" and "The Blacklist." It's a frustrating scenario and it's why Hart Hanson carved a few minutes out of his busy schedule this week to talk to AllYourScreens about the show. He wants people to watch "Backstrom" and he truly believes that if people will only give it a chance, the show will find its audience.

Q: One of the biggest challenges for "Backstrom" is that the show they tune into this Thursday is a much different show than they would have seen if they'd just looked at the pilot. And that's the core challenge: how do you get the audience to either re-sample the show or stick around so that they can see the growth in the characters?

Hart Hanson: It's a big challenge. I was going to say "call me naive," but after all these years in the business it must be stupidity. Even critics said that "this show is this." My assumption was that any TV show is about the evolution of a character and that people would realize that. And my optimism was unfounded. Any story is about people changing. But I guess that's not what everyone expects from a network show. Maybe....especially with a procedural. Or one that pretends to be a procedural.

It's a tough go. All of us on "Backstrom" have this bittersweet thing in that the feedback we get anecdotally is that people love the show. More than any show I've ever worked on, certainly. I've been getting lots of feedback from the people I know. And yet, we're really struggling to find an audience. We're in a very tough timeslot and we're just getting...oh my God, it's a slaughter.

Q: What kind of feedback are getting from Fox about the show? Obviously they liked it enough to pick it up initially and you have an ongoing relationship with them. But what is their perspective about the ratings so far and the challenges involved in finding an audience?

Hart Hanson: Well, they're pretty cagey. There's certainly a fair amount of conflict built into the relationship. But really only about the timeslot and promos. It's my job to scream for more promotion and it's their job to try and figure out where in their very finite list of places to promote things they're going to put what and what they're going to focus on. And I'm screaming "Oh, it's a tough timeslot" and "Hey, it's a marathon." And they're trying to figure out how to maximize their return on the entire network. I would say it's not personal. It's a conflict, but it's more like a sport. They're not your enemy, but they are your nemesis in this game. No, that's not quite right, because we both want to win...well, you know what I mean.

Q: Sure. I did stand-up comedy for about ten years and the old hackey reminder was that it's show BUSINESS. At the end of the day, everyone has to make a living.

Hart Hanson: Exactly. And the longer you're in the business and the higher up the food chain you get, the smarter the people are and the harder people are to fight with. And I've called right up the food chain....."How about more promos? How about more promos?" And that's my basic job right now.

But no one has said the show is going nowhere and people will whisper that in your ear. They might not say that publicly or in a conference call. But you know people at the network who have information at a high level and I haven't heard that yet. And I've certainly heard that before on other shows.

But we're in a pickle. We're on the bubble and the network needs some indication from the audience that they need to keep the show. We're tense about it. We're really anxious.

Q: The other side of this equation is the coverage from the press. The tendency with TV critics - especially with a procedural show - is to review it initially and maybe write something if there's a noteworthy guest star. But otherwise, they may go a year without writing about the show and "Backstrom" doesn't have that kind of time.

Hart Hanson: No, you're right. We don't have that kind of time. And that's one of the things that I'm naive/stupid about. So much - too much in my estimation - depends on the reaction to the pilot. Which is often the weakest episode in the series. And I think our show unfolds in a way that an audience would really like if they were on-board. And by the 13th episode, he (Backstrom) has undergone a number of changes in his life. It's a story about a guy who evolves against his will due to the people around him. And the way they invest in his life and the way he invests in his investigations.

That's kind of our series. And not having that trust right off the top, it hurts us. We're hoping that people will check in. I will say that a significant advantage to us is the ability of audiences to binge watch. That might pay off for us. If people do check it out, we think they'll like what they see.

Q: I'm a fan of procedural TV shows, at least well made ones. And it's sometimes frustrating to me because these shows aren't flashy and don't always get the same level of attention from critics as some other genres of television.

Hart Hanson: That's certainly been my experience. At least when it comes to network television like "Backstrom." Sure, I understand critics wanting everything to be cutting-edge cable. But this isn't that and they tend not to like network shows expect for a few, very special exceptions.

My pal David Shore, who created "House," did a very kind thing for me. He sent me some of his terrible, terrible reviews he got from some very good critics when "House" premiered. It's something that we all face at some point in network TV. Even back ten years ago, when "House" started.

Q: I had a chance to see this week's episode ("Ancient, Chinese, Secret") and one of things I liked about the episode was that while Backstrom isn't necessarily a nicer guy, some of the edges of his personality are more palatable. He is growing, albeit kicking and screaming as it happens.

Hart Hanson: Exactly. It surprised me that so many people didn't pick up on the fact that he says racist things, but he doesn't hate in a racist manner. The same with misogyny and homophobia. He says homophobic things. But his roommate and perhaps the person he's closest to in life is his gay roommate. He says racist things and yet two of his most treasured associates are black. And he reveres one of them.

I guess we should have had someone say that. But it's a little too late. But as time goes on, the audience begins to see that side of him. Here's how I always saw it. That he keeps the world at arms length by being objectionable. If you get too close to him, he will say something to shove you back four paces. And as he becomes less and less afraid of the world, he shoves back with less and less intensity. I think Dr. Dev is a perfect example of someone who gets closer and closer to him, so he shoves him back again and again.

My personal belief in life is that meddling is a wonderful thing. And if you have a really good family, they are meddling in your life. They don't care if you get mad or if they poke their noses in where they don't belong. Families show their love by not minding their own business. And like most network shows, we have an ersatz family in the Special Crimes Unit. They are going to butt into his business. That changes Backstrom and I hope it's part of what draws the audience into this world.

"Backstrom" airs on Thursdays (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.