How Fox Is Using Binge-Model Debut to Turn ‘Welcome to Flatch’ Into the Next ‘Parks and Rec’ or ‘The Office’
variety.comJennifer Maas TV Business WriterFox hopes to greet a big audience with its new small-town docu-comedy “Welcome to Flatch” when the Paul Feig and Jenny Bicks-produced show launches later this week.
But if “Flatch” doesn’t bring in the viewers with its linear premiere on Thursday at 9:30 p.m., Fox execs won’t be talking about cutting the mockumentary from the network’s midseason lineup Friday morning.That’s because the broadcast network is launching the first half of the 14-episode Season 1 via Hulu and other digital platforms at midnight on Thursday, and promises it’s not going to be giving much weight to “Welcome to Flatch’s” Live + Same Day Nielsen ratings over those first seven weeks of airing, when the episodes will all be available for streaming well before they rollout weekly on Fox.
The network hopes its patience and the rollout’s risk will be rewarded with “Welcome to Flatch” becoming the next “The Office” or “Parks and Recreation,” during a broadcast season that has seen comedies like CBS’ “Ghosts” and ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” score big Season 1 fanbases early on. “Rarely does anything ‘open’ anymore, and comedies take longer to find an audience — docu-style comedies specifically,” Michael Thorn, president of entertainment for Fox Entertainment, told Variety about the network’s inaugural attempt at this binge-first strategy. “We’ve been talking about trying to find the most specific types of voices that will hopefully capture a real fan base and grow from there, as opposed to trying to appeal to everyone at the same time, which doesn’t feel possible or likely anymore.”“Welcome to Flatch” is told through the lens of a documentary crew exploring the lives of residents of the midwestern town of Flatch.
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