Why 'Married To Medicine' Deserves More Than A Friday Night Slot

When a show is moved to Friday nights, it’s typically a sign that said show is not only no longer a priority, but nearing its end.

There are not many shows airing on Fridays that can lay claim to active promotion from its network. So, when Bravo decided to shift Married To Medicine from Sunday nights––during which it aired directly after ratings behemoth The Real Housewives of Atlanta––to Friday nights, fans like me took pause.

If one were to rate their emotions based on Mary J. Blige’s catalog, let’s say before the sudden air date shift, I was one of the more upbeat tracks on The Breakthrough. In a post-move to Sunday, I’m basically “Everyday It Rains” from The Show soundtrack. I’m basically sobbing in unison with Faith Evans gorgeously crooning in the background.

How could Bravo do this to me, and by extension, y’all watching the show with me? Last fall, Bravo launched a spinoff of Married To Medicine: Houston. Most of us––even the Houston natives––had no clue. Why? Because it aired on Friday nights. Friday nights are for hanging out, or if you’re just tired from the workweek, eating catfish dinners while drinking brown and catching up on DVR and/or Netflix.

Now, according to one television-centered site, Bravo was not intentionally setting up the show for failure: “While Friday nights typically haven’t been a focus for primetime TV–especially reality TV–that is definitely changing and Bravo wants a piece of the pie. WE tv, for example, airs many of their hit shows on Friday nights like Marriage Boot Camp.”

I’m not a television executive, but that sounds like the cable network equivalent of trusting your 1990s era Bad Boy record deal to lead you to lifelong prosperity. Perhaps the original Married To Medicine was moved to assist its Houstonian little sister, but even that seems like a miss. Why not on Tuesday? Or Wednesday? Maybe Thursday, especially since WE tv airs a lot of its programming that predominantly features “The Blacks” on that night.

The show now airs repeats on the same bloc it used to run new episodes. Most recently, the show was still scoring more than a million viewers on Sunday with a repeat. It’s unclear whether or not that figure is up to Bravo’s standards, but this weird new setup has me still clinging to a singular sentiment: please do not cancel my show.

While I will admit that The Real Housewives of Atlanta has managed to be the most entertaining it has been in quite some time, Married To Medicine offers far more in scope. I’ve written about the show before, but this season has taken it to new heights.

In addition to delightfully shady moments and dramatics that keep people hooked, there have been story lines of sincere depth. Take Dr. Simone, OB-GYN, being filmed in her office assisting a transgender man in his transition, while also stressing the importance of tending to his healthcare in spite of his discomfort. Moreover, she allowed viewers to join her in her search for her missing father, a man who struggled with alcoholism and was ultimately discovered dead. Then there was the episode that featured Dr. Jackie, who did a nude photo shoot for breast cancer awareness in the wake of her own double mastectomy rooted in her surviving breast cancer twice. Being able to watch a single episode in which a woman can tackle her body issues in the wake of cancer and seeing other women hilariously curse each other out is like my dream TV show.

What I’ve always loved about Married To Medicine is that it can mix messy with substantive material without it being forced––unlike some of the other shows that exist within its original viewing bloc (no shade). This show is my personal General Hospital, and now, I have greater respect for all the people I used to hear complain about “their stories” being removed from TV.

Y’all, please watch this show. Keep talking about it online. Make sure you let Bravo know that the show is still worthy of renewal and air dates on nights people are actually home.

Help me save Married To Medicine.