NBC dumps 'Quarterlife' to cable

After a single, dismal showing on network primetime, the drama originally created for the Web will move over to Bravo. Only 3.1-million viewers watched Tuesday night, which Silicon Alley Insider's Michael Learmonth suggests is closer to a cable audience anyway. By contrast, ABC's "Primetime" had 7.7 million viewers - and the NBC show preceding it, "Biggest Loser: Couples," drew 7.4 million viewers. As you might recall, "Quarterlife" got its start on MySpace and was the creation of Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, the Emmy-winning producers of "Thirtysomething" and "My So-Called Life." Herskovitz tries to put a positive spin on the poor numbers.

I’ve always had concerns about whether quarterlife was the kind of show that could pull in the big numbers necessary to succeed on a major broadcast network. It is important to remember that quarterlife has already proved itself as a successful online series and social network with millions of enthusiastic fans. We live in a media world today where many shows are considered successful on cable networks with audiences that are a fraction of those on the Big Four. I’m confident that quarterlife will find the right home on television as well.