God Bless The USA Network

And for good measure a group of really really good looking people

Last week USA premiered its newest original show Common Law, featuring two detectives so dysfunctional they have to be put in couples’ counseling so that they can learn to work together.  The pilot was very enjoyable and a great addition to the network that proclaims “Characters Welcome.”  It also got me thinking about this supposedly second tier cable network and how apart they are set from every other channel on television.

You probably know USA as the network that runs all day marathons of Law and Order: SVU and NCIS, but the network also has a very strong lineup of original programing that all have one interesting factor in common – they are all very good, especially when compared with most of the shows on the larger networks.  Though I cannot claim to be a viewer of every one of USA’s shows, I do watch most, and Psych, Burn Notice, White Collar, and Royal Pains are among my favorite shows currently on television.  The USA Network is owned by NBCUniversal, LLC which has led me to wonder why USA has been able to assemble such an enjoyable collection of programs while NBC has been chopping sub par programming to make more room for whatever reality show is doing best at the moment.  While NBC was letting a great premise like The Cape die off into obscurity, USA has continued to bring us funny, smart, and compelling stories each and every week.  So what has USA done that the major networks like NBC, CBS, or FOX have failed to do?  They’ve kept it simple, stupid.

USA has made a lot of mileage out of their slogan “Characters Welcome” and has proven that they only do one thing and do it well.  USA makes character-driven shows. USA is never going to make the next Lost or American Idol because that is not what they play well at.  Instead they focus on procedurals that tell a great story every week.  For the most part there is no complicated back-story or ongoing plot from week to week, such has become the fashion with hit shows like Lost.  Instead, the only thing that ties each episode to the next is the characters as they slowly develop over the course of a season.  Ask anyone obsessed with Burn Notice or Psych and they will tell you that those characters feel real to them and that they have seen them grow and change over the years.  While other networks have tried to create shows with rich backstories (Fox’s Terra Nova) or complicated premises (ABC’s Once Upon A Time) to varying success, USA has instead stuck with the fundamentals of characters and story first.  Their shows feature doctors, lawyers, and cops in the drama that is everyday life.  The shows don’t shy away from being procedurals, but rather embrace it.  As much as I enjoy a show that pushes the boundaries and tries something new, I take a great deal of comfort from the fact that USA will provide me with perfectly executed procedural fun each and every week.