Matt Passmore Quotes

Normally we go in, we do a series and then that's it, we're axed!

The first season of a show is kind of like an extended pilot. You're only really on the map if it goes a second season.

The lifespan of any show is to end in cancellation.

Year Two is a critical year for any television show.

Yeah, I'd done a bunch of pilots. Some that had gone for a while. One that went for 13 episodes. But I had never been on a show that had lasted more than that.

Pilot season in L.A. is just this blood bath. They make so many pilots, and such a small percentage are picked up. And then if you are picked up, there are so many variables. You have to get a good time slot, and you have to get promoted. And then you have to thrive in that time slot.

Networks can typically invest tens of millions of dollars in the development of a pilot. And if they put the show on the air and it fails, that's all lost money. There's no monetization of a broken series.

Season 4 can be deadly for a show that's been a hit show.

As actors, if you get a pilot on HBO or on USA, your odds are good that it's going to get picked up.

I've been really lucky to get on shows that stay on. It's one thing to book a show, and it's like winning the lottery again to have it picked up, and then again to have the show stay on the air.

There are shows that have been prematurely canceled, but I don't know if 'Smash' was one of them.

I've done, like, eight pilots, and every time, everyone thinks it's going to go for 10 years.

A show that no one thought had a chance has just finished its fifth year: Charmed. I think it's tougher for the younger networks, so I think they have a little more patience for the sake of the show. But who knows?

I count it as a major victory to not only be on a series that's had a full season run, but to actually be on one that's gotten picked up for a second season.

And generally the shows I'm in fail really big.

The decision as to why a show makes it has to do with politics and money.

I've been on one TV series after another. None of the network decisions have ever made sense to me.

More and more, I've started to understand that no show is dead unless somebody decrees it's dead at a studio.

I had developed a sitcom with UPN, but it wasn't picked up.

I don't know why it was canceled, but 'Mancuso, FBI,' it should have had a good long run, but it wasn't picked up. Maybe there was a problem with me. I have no idea.

Brimstone was great. That was another occasion when they called me in to do the pilot and it turned into a regular job, which made me quite happy. It was another really good experience and we were all so surprised when they pulled the plug on it.

I've always had a show that went seven episodes or 13 episodes or whatever. And I've never had a show that's gone past a first season. It really is a lot of work.

A lot of factors go into the longevity of a show.

It's such a process to get a show off the ground initially. And then, to already have a second season announced is a dream come true for any actor.

I've sold shows based on my standup twice to CBS, but they've never gone past the script stage. TV is very competitive.