ABC network keeps open arms for 'Cupid' sitcom

Web posted January 7, 1999

By Lynn Elber
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- Turns out broadcast networks can have a heart when it comes to shows worthy of a second chance.

Cupid, about an obsessive matchmaker who is either the Greek god of love or just plain loony, has drawn ratings that are less than Olympian. In fact, it and fellow ABC freshman Fantasy Island are the lowest-rated major network series this season.

Fantasy Island was recently given the hook. But ABC, recognizing the intricacies of the TV landscape and the fact that it has a good show worth saving, is sticking with Cupid. For now.

The series, starring Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall, moves to a new time slot -- 9 p.m. Thursdays (WJBF-TV, Channel 6), starting today.

``We just really love the show,'' said ABC Entertainment President Jamie Tarses. ``For us, you have to designate those shows you're going to be patient with.''

Patience, she said, is a quality much needed by broadcast networks vying for viewers in the multichannel TV world.

``There's too many options right now,'' Ms. Tarses said. ``Newsweek and Time did stories about how it was so courageous of us to stick with Sports Night after four weeks. I told both of them, `I must argue with your premise.' I'd love to say I'm courageous; it wasn't a courageous move.

``People do not find shows that quickly anymore. There are too many choices.''

Cupid fits the profile of a series that deserves nurturing. It started in a tough Saturday time slot, the evening that traditionally draws the fewest viewers, and wasn't helped by struggling lead-in Fantasy Island.

The executive producer for Cupid has credentials that suggest his series will be consistently watchable. Scott Winant worked on thirtysomething and the short-lived but beloved My So-Called Life.

There's another necessary element: Cupid is a fresh take on the hour-long format (think Fox's Ally McBeal) that broadcasters need to draw viewers who increasingly are turning to cable channels.

Mr. Piven (of Ellen and films including Very Bad Things and Grosse Point Blank) plays the title character, who insists to his court-appointed therapist Claire Allen (Marshall) that he is on a mission.

He has been banished to contemporary Chicago from Olympus and must match up 100 couples before he can return. Each match counts, we're told, only ``if the gods decide it's true love.''

The catch is that Cupid, going by the alias Trevor Hale, is barred from any bow-and-arrow shenanigans. He can employ only the mundane strategies favored by dating services and meddling parents.

The premise may sound sappy, but the execution is sparkling.

Cupid has won kudos from critics and the grass-roots group Viewers for Quality Television. Now all it needs is more viewers.