The Rise and Fall of the USA Network

USA Network is a basic cable tv channel owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal.

Early Years

USA Network was established in 1977 but with a different name. In 1980, Its name is changed to the USA Network. Throughout the 80s and 90s, it struggled to break into the mainstream. Until the early 2000s, it hosted mostly cheesy sci-fi shows. Everything Changed After 2002 when Monk debuted on the USA Network.

Monk

In July 2002, Monk debuted on the USA Network and found instant success. It is a police procedural series with a comic tone. It is a show about a former police officer turned consultant who has severe OCD. It was a big success for USA Network. It ran for 8 seasons. Tony Shalhoub, the actor playing the lead character got nominated for Emmy every year the show was on the air.

Character Welcome and Psych

In 2005, USA Network introduced a new logo "Characters Welcome". This logo was introduced to contrast the USA Network with HBO, FX, and AMC gritty shows which were producing the likes of The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, The Wire, and The Shield which had a dark and complex story arch that didn't shy away from violence and gore. USA Network branded itself as dark and gritty with its stories being sunny and fun.

Following the success of Monk, Psych debuted in 2006. Psych is also a police-procedural comedy-drama like Monk. But, Psych is also a buddy cop show. It follows a quippy, fast-talking consultant Shawn Spencer and his friend Gus, as they solve the "who done it" mystery in every episode. Psych was a successful show with eight seasons under its belt. In the show, Shawn convinces people that he is a psychic with his brilliant memory and incredible observational skills.

 Unlike another show at the time called The Mentalist. Where the lead character also has sherlock-ish qualities but he says the opposite. The Mentalist was a more serious tone than the Psych. The mid-2000s was the era of quirky detectives in American Television. During this time, USA Network latch onto this opportunity and made shows with an upbeat tone which was called the blue sky era of television.

The Blue Sky Era

Blue Sky Era started in the mid-2000s to mid-2010s. Which was easily the golden time for the USA Network. After the success of Monk and Psych, USA found their magic formula which helped them get to the top of the pyramid. USA Network was a rating powerhouse during this time. USA network's magic formula was breezy, quirky comedy-drama series. Breezy and Light-hearted is the primary tone of the series of this era. These shows were upbeat and optimistic. These shows will put a smile on your face while you are doing something else or you can also watch them while chilling and lounging. USA Network shows were fun and reliable.

After Psych, Royal Pains and Burn Notice debuted on USA Network with grand success with getting right and seven seasons respectively. Burn Notice was a spy drama, following Michael Weston who finds himself suddenly burnt (blacklisted essentially). Weston after being cast out goes around Miami doing impossible jobs for desperate people while trying to piece together why he got burned. 

Royal Pains is a medical drama with comedy thrown into the mix. It is similar to Burn Notice in the sense that Hank Lawson, the main character also gets cast out, after being wrongly blamed for a patient's death. He becomes a house-call doctor for the rich and famous. 

Covert Affairs debuted in 2010 but was not as successful as other flagship shows. Covert Affairs was quite bland which led to its cancellation in 2014 after five seasons.

 

Suits and White Collar 

In 2011, Suits premiered on USA Network which was not exactly like other shows in the USA. It was not as light and breezy. It was more grounded and realistic which was similar to White Collar which premiered in 2009. Both shows were fairly successful in their own right. With Suits ending after 8 seasons and White Collar after 6 seasons. 

White Collar was also a police procedural drama but not as light as the other shows on the Network. It can be said to be a buddy cop with the patch of rivals turned partners which was a pretty neat idea. White Collar follows Neal Caffery, a Charming Con artist who teams up with the FBI agent Peter Burke to assist the Feds in catching other elusive criminals in exchange for his freedom.

Suits is an American legal drama television series created and written by Aaron Korsh. It follows Mike Ross, a talented young college dropout, who is hired as an associate by Harvey Specter, one of New York's best lawyers. They must handle cases while keeping Mike's qualifications a secret. Mike Ross is the young phenom mentee and Harvey Specter is the experienced Mentor in this situation. It works pretty well. Mike and Harvey's chemistry is the core attraction of the show. Instantly after meeting one another, there is chemistry and tension which is followed by witty banter. Harvey is always flexing while Mike is trying to one-up him failing most of the time.

Harvey is confident, charming, and cocky. He wants to dominate every conversation and situation he enters. He is a fast-talking, fast-thinking, and whip-smart lawyer with a big reputation which he maintains at any cost usually to the annoyance and frustration of others. Mike is not as charismatic or charming as his mentor but he is incredibly smart and with unbelievable memory. Mike and Harvey's relationship and their handling of their contenders is the main draw of the show. 

The show also follows other employees at the firm along with the character's personal lives and their problems. The show ended in 2019.

 

Mr. Robot and the end of the Blue Sky Era

To say that Mr. Robot is a hit show is an understatement. This show won an Emmy award and was critically acclaimed and popular among audiences while dealing with serious issues like mental health and cyber security. It was created by Sam Esmail. Rami Malek is brilliant in the character of a mentally unstable and elite hacker. It was a bet for the Breezy and light USA Network but it paid off big-time. Now, the USA wanted to establish itself as a channel that produces dark and gritty shows. It followed through with Colony, a sci-fi show by Carlton Cuse who is renowned for Abc's Lost. Monk was initially going to be an Abc show but it didn't and changed the USA network for good, starting the blue sky era which ended with Abc's Lost writer Carlton Cuse. The Story came Full Circle. USA Network also greenlit other shows like Treadstone which was based on Bourne's Universe and Purge which was based on a hit movie. But, these shows failed to gain decent viewers except for the show Queen of the South.

Queen of the South ran for 5 seasons and it is a crime drama show starring Alice Braga who plays a drug lord. She flees to the United States after her drug-peddling boyfriend is murdered by a cartel boss. There, she sets out to become a drug lord and vows to avenge her lover's death.

The Show ended in 2021 marking also the end of the USA Network's relevancy.

Into Irrelevancy

Like other cable channels are losing their audience every day to streaming services. Naturally, USA Network changed its course to running cheap reality shows and WWE RAW and WWE NXT, and other sports events. After the dissolution Of NBCSN which hosted sports events and programs, The USA Network would be hosting these sports stuff along with WWE. These are the flagship programs of the network now. It also broadcasts a host of cheap reality shows which are cost-effective do not lose the network any money and easily break even. The Network has only one flagship scripted show which is Chucky which is a fairly successful show.

Conclusion 

From Monk to Chucky, USA Network has come a long way. It was fun while it lasted but it's over now. Even though it is going down. It entertained a generation with its quirky and fun characters.  It gave us memories that we will not forget.