NBC’s decision to cancel Playboy Club after three episodes is as much a reflection of the concept as the man who for an intents and purposes is Playboy, Hugh Heffner.
Speaking out on Twitter after the anticipated cancelation, Heffner tweeted, “It should have been on cable, aimed at a more adult audience.” This is what outsiders have been saying about the show since it was first announced. Everyone, except the decision makers at NBC, seemed to agree.
If Heffner felt this strongly about Playboy Club being on cable, why didn’t he flex his muscles and stop it from going to broadcast television? The answer to that question may stay behind closed doors. In my opinion, either Heffner didn’t have as much control over how the brand was used as we think he does, or he was willing to gamble with network television as much as NBC was.
Heffner’s absolutely right about Playboy Club being better suited for cable. It may not have been financially feasible to pull off on cable, but a show catered strictly to adults doesn’t belong on a network geared toward families. Would Mad Men be the hit it is if it aired on CBS and was heavily censored?
The writing for Playboy Club was on the wall before the show even premiered last month. Multiple parenting and other groups protested the premise, threatening to boycott advertisers who ran paid advertisements during the show. There’s a saying that any publicity is good publicity, bad or otherwise, but in this case, the negative sentiment was the first nail in the coffin.
Advertisers, in turn, like to target that 18-49 demographic that always comes up in the ratings. When a show fails there, it’s on life support and wearing a big cancellation target.
Playboy Club hearkens back to another era and speaks to an audience that falls beyond that key advertiser demographic. It’s hard to keep a show afloat if advertisers aren’t reaching their audience, not when there’s plenty of other shows to put their money behind.
There’s some speculation Playboy Club could find its way to a cable network like Southland, but I’d be surprised if it did. There’s no buzz behind the show, no push for more bunnies. Those who did watch seem content to let it rest in peace.
The only chance Playboy Club ever had was if it went the route of HBO or Showtime and cut loose on likely what really went on at those wild parties without a hint of censorship, backed by a big name director helming the pilot. I’d wager the viewership would be up a good 25 percent from NBC’s numbers if it had.
