The Conspiracy Syndrome

I've watched a number of crime dramedies on television and I've noticed that each one tries to include some sort of larger recurring mystery and/or conspiracy to hook the audience.  What I find interesting is that the recurring mystery is rarely the reason for their ratings.  Most often it's characters, humor, and the mysteries of the week that attract viewers.   So, why do producers continually write one in and what effect does it have on the show itself?  Let's take a look. 



USA's Monk (2002 - 2009)
Premise: Adrian Monk, an obsessive-compulsive former detective, consults with the San Fransisco PD to solve crimes in the hopes to be reinstated and find who killed his wife. 
Conspiracy: Monk's wife is killed off screen before the start of the series and he is unable to solve it until the final episode. 
Effect: The mystery of the murder, despite being such a critical piece of backstory, was greatly neglected by the writers.  In fact, a total of 6 episodes out of 125 dealt with it directly, though little details were mentioned in several other episodes which suggested that the mystery was larger than it actually was.  Most of these details were eventually ignored in the resolution. 
Conclusion: The series supports my theory that a larger recurring mystery isn't really necessary.  The show lasted for 8 seasons because Monk was such a fun character to watch.  The various developments on the mystery were mostly a sequence of people who were hired to participate in the murder.  Monk also didn't solve the mystery by connecting all the dots together, but by finding a tape that explained everything.

SyFy's Eureka (2006 - 2012)
Premise: A U.S. Marshall, Jack Carter, is assigned to be a town sheriff in a government sponsored town that creates an develops numerous inventions, that often run go wrong.  
Conspiracy: The town's operations are intermittently interfered with by a mysterious unnamed organization.  Their goal is unclear, though they've said it's to make sure the town inventions are used properly.  The only known figurehead is the town's former psychiatrist, who acted as a spy in the first season.
Effect: This is a little hard to get a read on since the conspiracy has a rather uneven presence in the series.  It was a strong focus of the second season, disappeared in the third, then came back in the fourth.   Mostly, it has provided an "as needed" villain, for better or worse.  
Conclusion: The problem with this conspiracy is that it has a weak connection to the show's premise.  Jack Carter has no personal connection to the conspirators other than thwarting their nefarious plans.  Also, since the organization has so many unanswered questions regarding its motive and overseers, the story doesn't feel like it's going anywhere.  The next season is scheduled to be the last, so hopefully there will be a final payoff for it all. 

NBC's Life (2007 - 2009)
Premise: Police officer Charlie Crews goes to prison for a murder he didn't commit.  After twelve years, he's exonerated, receives millions of dollars in settlement, and returns to the LAPD as a detective.  While in prison he also started practicing Zen. 
Conspiracy: The first season's arc was devoted to Crews finding out who actually committed the murder he was accused of by following up various leads.  The finale transitioned into the actual conspiracy around shadowing figures that willfully framed him specifically. 
Effect: Decent ratings during the first season, cancellation after the second. 
Conclusion: The first season's arc had an actual direction, goal, and developments which propped up the show's narrative.  Unfortunately, the writing staff changed due to the 2007 Writer's Strike and the direction of the story shifted.  The conspiracy became directionless, underdeveloped, and largely unexplained.  Personally, I think the writers' had a lot of material to use with a millionaire Zen detective who spent time in prison, and now runs around solving crime with his tough as nails female partner.  The conspiracy proved to be a distraction rather than a benefit. 

USA's White Collar (2009 - present)
Premise: A convicted con man, Neil Caffrey, escapes prison to find his missing girlfriend, but gets recaptured by the F.B.I..  He agrees to consult with their White Collar crimes unit in exchange for limited freedom, which lets him run his own investigation into his girlfriend's disappearance. 
Conspiracy: For the first season, Neal investigated what happened to his girlfriend, which was part of a larger operation to find something he stole which leads to a larger treasure. 
Effect: The conspiracy story was concentrated in the first two seasons while the show was still finding its feet.  After the second season, the conspiracy was concluded and the writers moved onto other story plots. 
Conclusion: It's difficult to tell how much the conspiracy arc helped or hurt the show since it enjoyed strong ratings during the first two seasons and continues to do so.  I'm pretty sure the writers wrapped it up because they had run out of material for it and wisely chose to pursue other options instead of drawing it out.  Since the show is still running, I'm gonna say the conspiracy helped a provide a goal and direction while characters were established, but was not the source of the show's appeal.

Fox's Castle (2009 - present)
Premise: A successful mystery writer, Rick Castle, partners with NYPD homicide detective, Kate Beckett, to find inspiration for his new novel series. 
Conspiracy: Part of Beckett's backstory was her mother's unsolved murder that motivated her to become a cop.  While the actual murderer, and motive was found out in season 3, the story expanded to include a mysterious mastermind who has other currently unknown operations. 
Effect: It's a little too early to say, the conspiracy aspect is a rather recent development and hasn't really gone anywhere yet. 
Conclusion: The show became a success before the conspiracy was introduced.  Much like Monk, most viewers simply enjoy Castle's humorous hijinks while he solves crimes.  The few episodes that dealt with Beckett's mother were treated just like any other mystery of the week, and it worked.  I have a feeling that the conspiracy arc will prove to be a misstep, but if the payoff is good it could be work out.  Since the actual details of the conspiracy aren't really known, the only purpose it serves now is a goal for Castle and Beckett to work towards, and an occasional source for leads on other cases via 'the mysterious informant.' 


These five series represent a rather small sample of crime shows (though crime dramedy is relatively new sub-genre).  All of these shows are based on some unique gimmick relating to crime solving, and it's that same gimmick, propelled by the characters, that usually draws viewers.  Another successful show, Psych, has avoided having one completely.  Most of the forensic shows have done the same, with equal success.  So why do they keep getting written into shows that don't need them?  Conspiracies sound good on paper.  They're exciting and often give the audience something to think about and anticipate.  They work best in a shorter form story like a feature film or mini-series.  A TV show requires more long term thinking, which is extremely difficult.  No TV writer has any idea exactly how long the show will last, so it's near impossible how large the conspiracy should be or how quickly it should develop.  Using as a tool to draw viewers usually turns into a trap that a TV writer should avoid unless they know exactly how things will play out.