Bran could be Tom's female near-equivalent, a single woman navigating career and relationships. "One of the storylines we're going to be following is the notion of being a successful woman in your 30s, and the pressure to get married versus the desire to be a full-time career person, and how that's different for women than it is for men," says Rauch.
Finding an audience: “We're kind of a guinea pig"
Love Monkey was recently launched mid-season on powerhouse CBS, which makes it something of a surprise that it wasn't titled CSI: Love Monkey. With nothing similar on the network, the show seems to be hanging from a lonely branch on Tuesdays at 10.
"They are very patient with the show, and they're so supportive creatively, but I do worry how long it will take to find our audience on that network," Rauch admits while filming the last of the eight episodes scheduled to air this season.
Maybe because of that, the show has turned to some creative Internet marketing. Besides the obligatory show site on CBS.com, there's a website for the fictitious label where Tom Farrell works, True Vinyl records ("Saving the world from crappy music, one gig at a time"). It includes bios of the fictional artists seen on the show and links to actual artists who've made appearances. The main characters also have MySpace pages, including Tom and his first find for True Vinyl, the John Mayeresque Wayne (really new Sony recording artist Teddy Geiger), where you can listen to the songs he plays on the show.
Love Monkey returns to CBS with a new episode on Tuesday, Feb. 7, after this week's preemption caused by the President's State of the Union address. In Canada, the show also airs Mondays at 10 on Global.
Links:
- For more of my discussion with Michael Rauch, see the transcript of the Q&A
- And for more interviews with TV writers:
Article comments
1 - -E
Great article. I admit I've watched the show and really liked it. I hope Love Monkey finds its audience and sticks around. It definately shows a lot of promise as a somewhat more hip show to bring to the CBS lineup.
2 - Mark Saleski
i tell you everybody, this show is screwed....every single time i like a show, it gets cancelled.
3 - -E
Mark I feel the same exact way. Makes me nervous too. But Love Monkey is a good show so I can't make myself not like it.