“Early closure”, “crisis”. Juxtaposing these words with “You’ve Got Mail” is jarring, but that’s what really happened this season. Woe betide you if you define it as a failure or unfortunate, because when faced with certain numbers the operation may honestly appear ridiculous. However, there is a clear and striking drop to be analysed, which to ignore would be just as wrong as the opposite.

This year the format seemed unquestionably faded, less central and iconic in the television debate. This is the fault of external factors and also of a construction which, after a quarter of a century from the launch date, it is legitimate to consider revisable and fixable.

Rai 1 competitive

“You’ve Got Mail” first of all dealt with an enthusiastic Rai 1, determined for once to compete on equal terms. And so, against the giant, “The Voice Kids” took to the field. Always behind for five episodes, he sensationally took the lead in the final, when Antonella Clerici’s talent show totaled 3,382,000 spectators and a 23.4% share compared to the 3,272,000 spectators and 22.1% of the Canale 5 programme.

Nothing sensational if it hadn’t been Maria De Filippi’s people show that had given way, having made its debut on the previous 10th January with 4.4 million and 28.6%. From there a constant decline, in the face of a surprising comeback by Rai 1, which made its mark precisely in the epilogue of Valentine’s Day.

The giant is wounded

The redemption of the following February 21st (3.9 million and 28.4%) was of little use, nor was the subsequent post-Sanremo exploit of March 7th (3.8 million and 27.1%). In the collective imagination the giant had been wounded.

A bit like Ivan Drago, unbeatable and unsinkable on paper, who shocks everyone at the first bloodstain that appears on his face. A comparison that fits perfectly, with the only difference that “You’ve Got Mail” hasn’t finished its run yet.

There are those who would pay to obtain certain numbers, those who sweat for years and don’t even come close. Yet De Filippi is asked for perfection, eternal glory, a conduct that does not conceive of drops in tension and missteps.

Early closing

The desire to say goodbye a week early then fueled the clouds over the broadcast. An operation which, when compared to the previous discussion, provided a distorted reading of the entire season of “You’ve Got Mail”.

Considering last Saturday’s response, with “Sanremo Top” trailing by seven percentage points, the people-show would not have encountered any obstacles even against Carlo Conti’s second appointment. Upstream, however, there would be an emptied warehouse due to non-linear editing carried out in past episodes, which left in the drawer stories deemed not captivating and not worthy of remaining on the air further.

There is good news

“You’ve got mail”, therefore, will return to the pits and will most likely undergo a restyling. And that doesn’t mean that all this should be read as bad news. Crises can often be healthy and functional in adjusting the aim, exactly as recently happened to “Tu si que vales”, which rose from its ashes after an evident flattening of content.

More than on stories with ordinary people, “There’s Mail” will have to evaluate the concrete usefulness of the involvement of celebrities, now immersed in a reiterated and bored pattern of ‘surprises’. In this sense, it would be necessary to look back and perhaps dredge up situations similar to that of Piero Fassino’s ex-nanny who contacted the editorial staff to embrace the then secretary of the DS again after forty years, or of Sabrina Ferilli sought by her ex-boyfriend who left her and who returned on his knees and repentant.

If De Filippi and the authors know how to listen to the sirens and evaluate the alarm bell in the right direction, this decline will not necessarily have been a bad chapter to erase.