A&E is flipping the script — right into the trash bin. The cable network has announced that since its sole scripted series Bates Motel has ended, it is taking the phrase “reality check” literally. The Bates Motel TV series finale just aired on Monday, April 24, 2017.
Deadline reports, “As A&E is reaching a turning point in its ratings comeback with the first back-to-back months of viewership growth in almost four years, the A+E network is recalibrating its programming strategy, returning to its roots as an exclusively non-fiction brand.”
A&E Returns to Reality
While scripted programming will continue on A+E Networks’ owned stations History and Lifetime, A&E — the flagship channel — will stick with reality and docu-series, going forward.
A&E’s current non-fiction series include 60 Days In; 60 Days In: Atlanta; Behind Bars: Rookie Year; Born This Way; Escaping Polygamy; Fit to Fat to Fit; Intervention; Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath; Little Funny; Live PD; Nightwatch; Storage Wars; The First 48; Wahlburgers; and Cold Case Files.
Although its popular Duck Dynasty TV show is ending after 11 seasons, A&E will bring the Robertson family back for specials.
In recent years, Bates Motel was the only A&E scripted series to be renewed beyond its first season. A look at the ratings explains why. One of the first steps in growing its non-fiction slate includes the revival of the popular Biography TV series.
What do you think? Is A&E making the right decision in getting rid of its scripted programming? Let us know, below.
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