10 Shameless Attempts By TV Shows To Boost Their Ratings
6. Civil Wars Bared All
Just because a TV show tries to boost ratings doesn't mean it's always successful (or that the boost will benefit the show in the long run). Case in point, Civil Wars, the American legal drama which aired on ABC between 1991 and 1993. The series focused on the lives and legal cases of New York City divorce attorneys, yet only managed to last two brief seasons.
Civil Wars starred Mariel Hemingway, an actress previously famous for her role in Woody Allen's 1979 film Manhatten. As the show's ratings dwindled, a scene was written that would see Hemingway's character Sydney Guilford appear completely naked. Hemingway had previously posed nude for Playboy in 1983, so the notion that she might draw more viewers was pretty well founded.
In the episode, her character delved into the world of modelling, posing naked for a fashion photographer. Despite heavy publicity, ABC could only show so much skin, and though the buzz certainly boosted the episode's numbers, they steadily declined during the rest of the season (probably once people realised no-one else was getting naked), leading to the show's inevitable cancellation.