What Killed Fox's 'Utopia?' Reality Show Loses Tuesday Time Slot to 'MasterChef Junior'

After just a few short weeks, Fox's ambitious new reality show "Utopia" is going to the place where shows go to die: Fridays.

The network has shaken up its weekly lineup, taking away the Tuesday time slot for "Utopia" and replacing it with a new season of "MasterChef Junior." "Utopia" previously aired twice a week, but will now air only on Friday nights.

It's not much of a surprise, considering the show's weak ratings throughout its short run so far. In its second week, "Utopia" only managed a 0.9 in the demo.

But what exactly killed "Utopia?" Why were the ratings so dismal on a channel where reality shows almost always perform at least relatively well?

Fatigue might be the answer. It's not necessarily the case that audiences are done with reality television altogether, but the golden age is definitely over, and networks like Fox haven't quite adjusted yet.

Personally, I was excited to watch "Utopia" when I heard about it earlier in the summer. It sounded like an interesting concept that could provide some thought-provoking insight into our problems in society in addition to the usual cheap reality TV drama.

But when I sat down to watch the premiere, I looked at my cable guide and saw that it was a full two hours long, and I gave up not more than 10 minutes into the show. Why would I commit two hours to a show when I don't even know if I'll like it or not? And then I have two watch it twice a week in order to keep up? Forget it. I'm not committing four hours of my life every week to reality TV.

The trend is rampant these days: TV premieres and movies are getting longer and longer, and it doesn't seem like anyone in the audience is particularly happy about it. Why should they be? I'm an only slightly embarrassed addict of "The Biggest Loser." I used to watch it every week. But half of the two-hour time slot is filler, so these days I watch it a day later on Hulu and just skip the first half.

We won't even talk about how "Transformers: Age of Extinction" ran nearly three hours long.

Here's a tip, networks: if you want people on board with a new show, ease them in. Leave them wanting more. Too much of a good thing isn't neccessarily wonderful; it's usually just boring.