電視劇就像是如今眾多熱播劇中的僵尸一樣，反正就是死不了。而且，即便被取消之后，越來越多的節目反而會換個電視臺，或進駐數量越來越多的流媒體公司，來制作新劇集。

今年1月，電視劇《神煩警探》（Brooklyn Nine-Nine）在被福克斯（Fox）取消之后，又首次出現在了美國全國廣播公司（NBC）。5月，漫畫改編的電視劇《路西法》（Lucifer）在去年被福克斯取消之后，重新登上了Netflix。與此同時，前科幻頻道劇集《蒼穹浩瀚》（The Expanse）將于12月回歸亞馬遜Prime Video。

我們不妨將這種做法稱之為“劇集交換”，它并非是什么新事物。數十年前，像《反斗小寶貝》（Leave It to Beaver）和《細路仔》（Diff’rent Strokes）等知名劇集在播出期間都曾經更換過電視臺。

但在近幾年，節目的換臺頻率明顯有所加速，因為擴張中的有線網絡電視和新流媒體服務都渴望獲得視頻內容。曾經被好萊塢視為“次品”的而取消的節目，如今則被看作是機會。畢竟，從零開發一個劇集要耗費數百萬美元的成本。此外，很多被取消的節目在當前都擁有粉絲，他們必然會在Facebook和推特（Twitter）上熱議劇集的復播。

Pop TV的總裁布拉德·施瓦茨表示：“在這個已經達到頂峰的電視生態圈中，我們難以投入精力來制作一些突破性的內容，你可以通過播放人們已經了解和喜愛的一些節目來獲得些許優勢。”作為哥倫比亞廣播公司旗下的市場細分電視臺，Pop TV最近開始播放來自于Netflix的電視劇《活在當下》（One Day at a Time）。

3月，Netflix取消了20世紀70年代末80年代初諾曼·里爾熱播劇的翻拍劇《活在當下》，它講述的是一個單身母親和她孩子們的故事。三個月之后，Pop TV宣布將賦予該電視劇第二次生命（如果算上原創，應該是第三次了）。

施瓦茨說：“我們認為它與Pop TV十分契合。”

他的頻道計劃全力推廣其新接納的劇集，以便盡可能在該劇明年回歸時攬獲更大的受眾群。但施瓦茨還指出，Pop TV所認為的成功與視頻流巨頭Netflix的看法之間還存在著巨大差距。

施瓦茨說：“如果有500萬人觀看《活在當下》，這可能對Netflix來說并不算多，但對我們來說就很不錯了。”

Netflix并沒有回復《財富》雜志的置評請求，而且從未公布過《活在當下》的收視率。該劇播出了三季。

弗若斯特沙利文咨詢公司（Frost & Sullivan）的分析師丹·雷布恩表示，總的來說，財大氣粗的流媒體公司的高速發展至少是導致美劇交換日漸頻繁的其中一個原因。除了像Netflix、亞馬遜Prime以及Hulu等大牌之外，新面孔包括即將面世的蘋果TV+和Disney+，以及NBC環球（NBCUniversal）的流媒體服務和華納媒體（WarnerMedia）的HBO Max。

雷布恩表示，像《奧維爾號》（The Orville）這樣的科幻電視劇將于2020年年底從福克斯挪至Hulu。這部劇集并沒有被取消，相反，其制作者塞斯·麥克法蘭對這一舉措進行了解釋，他們難以在福克斯換季檔期間按時向福克斯交付這一電視劇。雷布恩表示，換臺播出對于一些節目來說是正常的，因為這種方法“能夠為劇集帶來靈活度、創造力以及不同的營銷方式。”

當然，得到拯救的劇集并不一定就能存活。例如，Netflix在7月取消了《指定幸存者》（Designated Survivor）。該劇來自于ABC，僅在Netflix播放了一季。

節目交換出現了一個相對較新的形式：對于從電視臺交換至流媒體公司的劇集，其版權依然屬于電視臺。7月便出現了這一事件，當時NBC環球以這種方式將NBC最近取消的高中喜劇《瘋狂教授生物課》（A.P. Bio）讓渡給了流媒體公司。

獵頭公司Creative Artists Agency的代理羅伯特·肯尼利預計，隨著好萊塢適應流媒體帶來的威脅和機遇，節目交換將繼續發展。有一點是顯而易見的，以前在電視行業十分少見的第二次機會，如今已經是習以為常。

肯尼利說，這對于制作者來說是一個“偉大的時代”。（財富中文網）

本文登載于《財富》雜志2019年9月刊。

譯者：馮豐

審校：夏林

Television shows are a lot like the zombies that star in several of today’s hit series: They just won’t die. Instead, after being canceled, a growing number of shows are producing new episodes on a different channel or on one of the increasing number of streaming services.

In January, sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine premiered on NBC after being dumped by Fox. In May, comic book–inspired series Lucifer reappeared on Netflix, after being canceled by Fox last year. Meanwhile, former Syfy drama The Expanse is slated to come back to life on Amazon Prime Video in December.

The practice—call it show swapping, if you’d like—isn’t new. Decades ago, iconic series like Leave It to Beaver and Diff’rent Strokes switched homes during their runs.

But in recent years, the pace has noticeably accelerated because of the proliferation of cable networks and new streaming services hungry for content. Once viewed by Hollywood as “damaged goods,” canceled shows are now considered to be opportunities. After all, developing a series from scratch costs millions of dollars. Furthermore, many canceled shows have existing fans who will inevitably gush about the revivals on Facebook and Twitter.

“It’s so hard to get attention to break through in this peak-TV climate that you can be a little ahead of the game by having something people already know and love,” says Brad Schwartz, president of Pop TV, the niche CBS-owned network that recently picked up sitcom One Day at a Time from Netflix.

In March, Netflix pulled the plug on One Day at a Time, a reboot of Norman Lear’s hit show from the late 1970s and early ’80s about a single mother and her kids. Three months later, Pop TV announced that it would give the show a second life (or third, if you count the original).

“We thought it was a perfect fit,” Schwartz says.

His channel plans to go all out in marketing its newly adopted series to get as big an audience as possible for its comeback next year. But Schwartz also points out the huge gap between what Pop TV considers success and what streaming giant Netflix does.

“If 5 million people watch One Day at a Time, that might not be a huge hit for them, but it would be great for us,” says Schwartz.

Netflix, which did not respond to Fortune’s requests for comment, has never publicly discussed viewership numbers for One Day at a Time, which ran for three seasons.

In general, says Dan Rayburn, an analyst at Frost & Sullivan, the multiplying number of streaming services with deep pockets is at least partially responsible for the rise in show swapping. In addition to big players like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu, newcomers include the upcoming Apple TV+ and Disney+, as well as NBCUniversal’s streaming service and WarnerMedia’s HBO Max.

Rayburn says a show like The Orville, a sci fi dramedy that will move to Hulu from Fox in late 2020, could thrive at its new home. The series wasn’t canceled. Instead, its creator, Seth MacFarlane, has explained the move by saying it was difficult to deliver the show to the network in time for its mid-season slot. Rayburn says shifting to streaming can make sense for some shows because the medium “lends itself to flexibility, creativity, and a different way of marketing.”

Of course, just because a series is rescued doesn’t mean its survival is guaranteed. For example, in July, Netflix killed political thriller Designated Survivor, which it had adopted from ABC, after just one season.

A relatively new wrinkle in the show-swap phenomenon is the series that switches from broadcast to streaming but stays in the corporate family. That happened in July, when NBCUniversal’s planned streaming service picked up NBC’s recently canceled high school comedy A.P. Bio.

Rob Kenneally, an agent at talent firm Creative Artists Agency, expects show swapping to continue evolving as Hollywood adapts to the threat and opportunity of streaming. What is clear is that second chances, once relatively rare in TV, are now routine.

Says Kenneally, it’s “a great era” for creators.

This article appears in the September 2019 issue of Fortune.