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Bad Karma for "Dharma"?
As is the case with NBC's Frasier and the WB's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the ABC sitcom stalwart is facing an uncertain future at its longtime network home.
The trouble? Fox, the studio that produces the show, and ABC, which has aired the show since its 1997 debut, are far apart in renewal talks, according to Daily Variety.
ABC has a four-year deal with the Fox-produced comedy that ends in May, and both sides are reportedly bracing for a tough renegotiation.
Currently, ABC airs Dharma Tuesdays at 9 p.m. at a cost of about $900,000 an episode, but Fox thinks it's worth about $3 million a show.
Considering that NBC pays Warner Bros. $5.5 million for each episode of Friends, Fox's request doesn't seem that off-base.
Unfortunately for Dharma, its ratings started to drop this season when it was placed opposite NBC's popular Frasier. Dharma's ratings are down about 21 percent from a year ago.
So ABC isn't exactly knocking down doors to get a new contract with Dharma, saying the show is only worth about $1.5 million an episode.
ABC sources tell Variety the network had tried to get the renewal deal done last year when the show's ratings were higher, but the studio wasn't interested in talking then. However, the trade paper quotes other sources saying ABC's offer last year was so far below what the show was worth that discussing it seemed absurd.
A Fox spokesperson would only say that the studio doesn't want to "negotiate in the press." ABC didn't comment.
Despite the early wranglings and tough talking, which are typical in TV land, it is unlikely Dharma will jump networks. ABC and Fox have a good history working together. The two sides have all but wrapped up a renewal deal for The Practice with little or no trouble. And, even though it isn't as popular as it used to be, Dharma is ABC's second most-watched comedy (after The Drew Carey Show), and that isn't something the network is going to say good-bye to anytime soon.
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