Selling the Color Inside Those White Coats

By GREG BRAXTON

Oct. 25, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

ABC’s new hospital drama “Gideon’s Crossing” and CBS’ sophomore “City of Angels” have more than needy patients and romantic turmoil in common. Both are centered on noted African American actors and feature multicultural casts.

Yet, when it comes to marketing strategy, critical reaction and public perception, the two series are at opposite ends of the spectrum. “Gideon’s Crossing,” starring Andre Braugher, is seen as a topical and intense medical drama, while “City of Angels,” starring Blair Underwood, carries the label of “black drama” with many viewers. There is a clear color line separating these series--a line that traditionally impacts a show’s chances of success or failure, or whether it gets much consideration from a broad base of TV viewers at all.

The ratings history illustrates the stark contrast. If a new prime-time drama series is perceived as having primarily racial or cultural themes, mainstream audiences rarely show up--”Under One Roof,” starring James Earl Jones, and “South Central” are among such high-profile failures. At the same time, drama series featuring minority actors that place little or no emphasis on race have a far greater chance of survival--consider the popularity of “Law & Order,” “The Practice,” “ER” and “The West Wing,” as well as “Gideon’s Crossing’s” solid premiere, which more than 17 million viewers watched.

“City of Angels,” which came on the scene as a “black drama” midway through last season, had hoped to turn that tide. Months before its premiere, it was heavily promoted as primarily an African American drama. Screenings were held for black community leaders, and the black press was courted aggressively. Steven Bochco and Paris Barclay, two of its creators, promised a heavily ethnic series. But the approach hurt the show, with mainstream audiences never sampling it and black audiences soon dropping out as it struggled to find its footing creatively.

Bochco now believes that a key to the show’s survival will be to overcome that stigma. It looks to be a struggle, given its poor showing in its new time slot--one of the toughest on the CBS schedule--Thursdays at 9 p.m., when it faces the formidable NBC combo of the Emmy Award-winning “Will & Grace” and “Just Shoot Me” and ABC’s powerhouse “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”

“What I would like to believe is that we didn’t do better with audiences [last season] because we didn’t do better with our show,” says Bochco, whose prolific career includes “NYPD Blue” and “L.A. Law.” “We were dealing with the pressure of being the only African American drama, and it held us back. All of us were paying too much attention to the racial aspects and consequences rather than concentrating on telling really good stories.

“Now we’ve relaxed. We’ve released ourselves from that burden. We’re telling better stories and making a smarter show. I wish we had done last year what we’re doing this year.”

Keeping the Race Issue Mostly Under the Table

“Gideon’s Crossing,” on the other hand, has always been positioned by ABC and its creators as a series about a hospital that practices cutting-edge medicine, with little or no discussion about the race of its star and cast. Even the fact that Braugher’s character, based on Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Jerome Groopman, was originally intended to be white has been downplayed. Most TV critics, who generally praised the show, barely mentioned its minority cast.

Paul Attanasio and Katie Jacobs, two of the executive producers of “Gideon’s Crossing,” said the casting of Braugher and the diversity of “Gideon’s Crossing” was mostly organic.

“We did have a conversation on how the casting of Andre affected the material, and we felt it didn’t affect it at all,” said Jacobs.

Added Attanasio: “If you’re sick and the doctor says he or she will get you well, it doesn’t matter if they’re black, white, purple or striped.”

There is more than just the success or failure of a television show at stake. CBS President Leslie Moonves suggests that if “Gideon’s Crossing” and “City of Angels” can succeed on dramatic merits rather than cultural foundations, that should encourage more multiracial casting and less hesitation to put a minority actor in a leading role.

“ ‘Gideon’s Crossing’ and ‘City of Angels’ must transcend being African American shows,” says Moonves. “They must invite everyone in. The audience can’t be relating to Blair Underwood as an African American hero, they must relate to him as a hero. It’s like what I’ve said about ‘ER.’ When you were sick, you would want to see those guys. The same thing must happen with ‘City of Angels.’ ”

To that end, the show’s promos now focus on its quickened pacing and dramatic plots.

Preachy Perceptions Hurt Ethnic Shows

There are producers, however, who contend that dramas with largely ethnic casts are often bound to their cultural roots by viewers who see them as being preachy or too socially earnest. That perception may have hurt Fox’s “413 Hope St.,” an urban ethnic drama created three years ago by actor-comedian Damon Wayans about a teen crisis center.

Although “413 Hope St.” was a favorite of former Fox Entertainment President Peter Roth and other executives and received some positive reviews, it was rejected by viewers--even its target black audience. It was criticized as being too serious, an assessment that was echoed last season regarding “City of Angels,” which managed to hold enough of its core audience to get a second season order.

Doug Alligood, senior vice president of special markets for the advertising buying firm BBDO Worldwide, added: “People don’t like to be led. It’s like, ‘Don’t tell me what is socially relevant or politically correct.’ The bottom line is, ‘Does it excite me?’ You just can’t plant a seed in people’s mind that watching something will make you a better person.”

The lackluster performance of “City of Angels” and other minority-themed dramas has stifled the development of other such series. Even the furor over the lack of cultural diversity last season--which resulted in the four major networks adding a diversity chief and pledging to be more inclusive in casting--has done little to spark more dramas featuring largely minority casts.

The head of one major television studio who asked not to be identified said, “ ‘City of Angels’ was perceived in the industry as being another sign that a black drama just can’t work. It was a sweeping indictment that was unfair. To say the success or failure of this show determines the future of other similar dramas is absurd.”

Minority Casting Not on Fast Track

With the exception of Fox, which is developing a drama with a “strong African American female lead” for next season, future dramatic projects built on diverse casts are not on the fast track at most studios and networks.

“No, there has not been a rush in the industry to develop shows with primarily minority casts,” says Bochco. “In the nature of things in television, until something succeeds, it doesn’t get replicated. Everyone is still waiting to see what is going to happen with ‘City of Angels.’ ”

Writer-producer Gregory Nava, whose Latino drama pilot “American Family” was passed on by CBS in May, says, “Despite this call for diversity, it’s clear from what is on this season what the networks have done. Despite the intense pressure, the new season doesn’t show change.”

PBS has expressed an interest in “American Family” but has yet to make a firm commitment.

Added Ralph Farquhar, one of the creators of UPN’s “Moesha” and “The Parkers” who is currently developing a half-hour drama with a black cast: “It’s still the status quo. In terms of development, there have been no breakthroughs.”

NBC executives say they have been focused on more diverse casting in their shows, rather than developing an ethnic drama per se. Several studios, including 20th Century Fox Television and Columbia TriStar Television, did not return phone calls regarding their development plans.

Still, some within the industry see hope for such dramas to emerge. Felicia D. Henderson, co-executive producer of the Showtime series “Soul Food,” based on the 1997 hit film about a black family, notes that minority performers and writers are moving up in the ranks.

“There are people of color in positions now where they weren’t before,” says Henderson. “Next year will be very important to see what happens.”

Referring to “Soul Food,” Showtime President Jerry Offsay says: “I think we’ve shown that an ethnic drama can work with the right ingredients. If you build it right, they will come.”

‘Soul Food’ Success Story

“Soul Food,” with its all-black cast, is Showtime’s highest-rated original series. It is particularly popular with the premium cable network’s black audience, but it has yet to draw a base of viewers that cuts across racial lines. Recently renewed for a second season, the series may add white characters.

“I hope the walls will be coming down,” says Garry Hart, president of network TV for Paramount Studios. “The audience acceptance of ‘Soul Food’ may make the networks wonder a bit.” Particularly if it is able to build beyond a largely black audience.

Still, “Soul Food” is operating in the relatively limited universe of premium cable, and cannot serve as an accurate barometer of the state of weekly ethnic drama. And “Resurrection Blvd.,” another of Showtime’s ethnic dramas, is failing to attract significant viewership even in its target Latino audience. It has not yet been renewed for a second season.

The real test will come with the audience response to the new edition of “City of Angels.” Last season, its critics attacked everything from story lines to its use of a gospel music soundtrack. Its first creative and cosmetic overhaul came in March but did not significantly increase viewership. Behind-the-scenes conflicts resulted in the departure at the end of the season of female lead Vivica A. Fox and one of the show’s creators, Paris Barclay.

But Bochco is optimistic about the new version, saying that Kevin Hooks, who was recruited as executive producer after Barclay’s departure, has brought a different texture to the series.

“He has really radically altered the physical presentation of the show,” Bochco said. “It’s quicker, faster-paced. We have more interesting visuals.”

Still, if “City of Angels” can perform a bit better in the tough Thursday time slot than its predecessor, “Chicago Hope,” Bochco believes the show, as well as the dramatic cultural genre, will get a new lease on life.

“We’re fortunate enough to get another chance,” he says. “It would be a shame if wedon’t shake it up and go for broke.”

* “Gideon’s Crossing” airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on ABC. “City of Angels” airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on CBS.