‘City of Angels’ Tries a New Treatment

With the clock ticking on whether CBS’ inner-city hospital drama, “City of Angels,” will earn a second season, two of the show’s co-creators, acclaimed producer Steven Bochco and director Paris Barclay, are moving aggressively to implement what Bochco calls creative and cosmetic changes that include more complex and issue-oriented plots.

The series has struggled in the ratings since its high-profile debut in January as one of the rare network television dramas to feature a predominantly African American cast. The changes are aimed at addressing that ratings lag, geared to help broaden the show’s audience beyond the core group of black viewers that has turned it into the second most popular show in African American households, and the top CBS show among black viewers.

Prior to the premiere of “City of Angels,” industry insiders said that the future of dramas featuring predominantly African American casts sat squarely on its shoulders--that network executives would be reluctant to develop ethnic dramas if the show failed to click with a mainstream audience.

On that score, the show’s performance has been somewhat disappointing. As CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves put it: “Ratings wise, the jury is still a little bit out. It’s improving a little on the time period, but it’s not the hit I would like it to be or Steven or Paris would like it to be. It has to attract a mainstream audience, and to a certain extent it hasn’t done that.”

Despite its classy pedigree, the show has been stung by criticism ranging from uninspired story lines and characters to its use of gospel music on the soundtrack. A respectable number of black viewers have taken to the show, but white viewers--needed for the drama to achieve mainstream success--have been harder to come by.

While acknowledging that the series has had its share of stumbles out of the gate, both Bochco and Barclay continue to have confidence in “City of Angels.” The series, they say, is finally evolving into the dramatic property they had always envisioned.

Tonight’s Episode ‘a Great Relaunch’

Both Bochco and Barclay are declaring tonight’s episode of “City of Angels” “a great relaunch,” for the series that airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. They are hoping for a larger viewership, particularly since the drama’s February sweeps nemesis, ABC’s blockbuster “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” is out of the way, at least for the time being.

Said Bochco: “It’s really a new beginning for us, our first airing against regular programming. Plus this is very much a tremendous work in progress. The episodes we have coming up now are consistently built on quality and sure-footedness. They’re more complex.”

Bochco cited tonight’s episode that includes a debate over a controversial liver transplant to a convicted murderer, and an upcoming racial-profiling episode in which Dr. Ben Turner (Blair Underwood) is pulled over by police because he is black. Feature film directors such as Reginald Hudlin (“Boomerang,” “The Great White Hype”) and Kevin Hooks (“Passenger 57,” “Fled”) have signed on to direct episodes.

Also changing is the show’s look and feel. The gospel wailing scattered throughout “City of Angels” will be gone starting tonight, replaced with a hipper musical score. (Said Bochco: “Black viewers and others were letting us know that they loved the show, but the gospel music made them giggle.”)

Before the series debuted, Barclay said he had wanted to bring a documentary-style visual approach to the series, which is set in a struggling hospital in Los Angeles. But it didn’t play as well as he had hoped.

“I had wanted to bring in fluorescent lighting, the whole bit,” Barclay said. “But with that, there were brown people in brown clothes working in a brown room. There was a general sense of brownness. So we’re losing that. We are brightening up the show with lighting and colors. We’re putting windows in the emergency room, more light on faces.”

Added Bochco, “We’re making subtle changes that will result in a more user-friendly show.”

The series will also move a bit out of the hospital, with one scene in a future installment finding the major cast dancing in a salsa club.

Bochco said a key to the improvement in the series is mainly due to a greater comfort zone between the veteran Bochco and the relatively inexperienced, mostly minority writing staff.

“I’ll never be a black man,” Bochco said. “I’ll never have the innate sensibility of that experience.” He didn’t always trust his own impulses in script development, “and there was a degree of micro-surgery” when it came to the writing staff. There was uneasiness on both sides at first, but now Bochco said there is a more fluid flow of ideas and stories, which is resulting in stronger scripts: “We’re all signing off on scripts now that we all would not have signed off on in the beginning. There’s more listening on both sides.”

Thus far Bochco says the network has been behind the series 100%: “I’ve talked to [Moonves], and he has remained committed and enthusiastic. He’s not throwing in the towel.”

Barclay was even more sure about the show’s chances: “I will lay down in the middle of Pico Boulevard if we don’t get a second season.”

Later this month the series will get a special Tuesday 9 p.m. airing to give it an extra boost, according to Moonves. “We put it in the Wednesday slot to allow it to grow,” he explained. “It’s hard for new dramas to get established. There’s no panic now, no chance of us pulling the show. We want to give it the opportunity to shine.”

Series Still Looking for White Viewers

The series is drawing significantly more viewers than last year’s occupants in the time slot, “The Nanny” and “Maggie Winters,” and this season’s predecessors, “Cosby” and “Work With Me.” “The show is very effective in this time slot,” said David F. Poltrack, CBS executive vice president of research and programming.

While its rating among black viewers is solid--only UPN’s “The Parkers” outranks the series in popularity among African American households--among white viewers “City of Angels” ranks 86th.

In addition, executives said the series, ranked No. 74 in total household rating, is attracting the 25- to 54-year-old demographic favored by CBS, and is attracting more viewers than veteran CBS shows such as “Chicago Hope,” “Diagnosis Murder” and “Early Edition.”

Shonda Buchanan, associate editor of Turning Point, a black issue-oriented community magazine, said she became a quick fan of “City of Angels,” but she has been unable to convince her colleagues or friends to tune in.

“I love the richness of the drama,” Buchanan said. “I love seeing people like me on television. But a lot of people have told me they haven’t had a chance to watch it yet. I hope it doesn’t go away.”

Indicative of the show’s grass-roots support among blacks was a bulletin issued Monday on the Electronic Urban Report, a Web site linked to the Radioscope entertainment program hosted by Lee Bailey. The item reminded viewers about watching the series.

“OK, this is a call to arms,” said the EUR missive. “If you fail to heed the call, then please don’t bitch when the show is canceled. . . . ‘City of Angels’ is not really in trouble now, but it could be doing a lot better. Bottom line, we gotta support the show.”

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* “City of Angels” can be seen Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on CBS. The network has rated it TV-14-DL (may be unsuitable for children younger than 14 with special advisories for coarse dialogue and suggestive language).