In Pursuit of Millennials, USA Darkens Its Palette

06.18.2015

After a tough year in which its audience is down 21 percent and its failed to launch any new shows, USA Network is back at it with the June 18 premiere of Complications and the June 24 debut of hacker drama Mr. Robot.

The network is taking an edgy turn as it courts millennials and leaves behind the boomer audience that kept the network on top for so long.

"Millennials are bound together by a core group of values: the idea of perseverance, inner strength, self-confidence and bravery," USA President Chris McCumber told The Hollywood Reporter, citing USA research.

That means a combination of heroism and optimism, with a healthy dose of cynicism thrown in there. It's a programming theory that lines up with another network that's currently finding success with such aspirational, action-packed programs: The CW's Arrow and The Flash.

The shift started four years ago, THR reports, when USA moved away from such dramedic fare as Psych and Monk and went more heavy with shows such as Suits, its top-rated program, and Graceland.

Mr. Robot already has kicked up some dirt with its provocative "F-- Society" campaign, and the network also is prepping to premiere Complications, which comes from Burn Notice creator Matt Nix.

In general, it's been a rough year and a half or so for cable networks, which are seeing their ratings tumble as people switch to on-demand and binge viewing. In 2014, USA saw its viewership drop 21 percent, according to THR, and it's recently had little luck with such new shows as Rush and Satisfaction. The network also backed off a plan to delve into original comedy, after securing Twentieth's Modern Family for hefty license fees, when two new sitcoms, Sirens and Benched, never got off the ground. And the network's highly promoted limited series, Dig, failed to get any traction.

It's a scary time to be a cable programming, but McCumber says: "If you don't take the risks right now and you keep standing still, you will not succeed."