For other works by this name, see Revolution.
A former ABC daytime show; The Revolution was meant as a health and lifestyle Talk Show aimed towards women, produced by J.D. Roth and hosted by a Five-Man Band who covered distinct areas of health, fashion, and decoration. As the deck was stacked against Tim and Ty, the series was primarily focused on health topics. The main feature of the series was a focus on women starting a "revolution" of their own (read: reaching some type of health and wellness goal, i.e. weight loss); segments devoted to different stages of their progress aired as a Story Arc across multiple episodes.
The Revolution was the second product of ABC's move to cut its soap operas in favor of cheaper programming; it premiered on January 16, 2012 as a replacement for One Life to Live. Although The Chew, a cooking-oriented talk show that replaced All My Children, was better-received and lasted until 2018, The Revolution was an outright flop — likely because of the fan revolt that resulted from the cancellation of OLTL. By March, it had lost half its viewership in comparison to the former soap; on April 11, 2012, ABC officially canned the series, and its finale aired on July 6, 2012.
Rather than replace it with a new program for the 2012-13 season, ABC elected to move General Hospital up from its traditional 3:00 p.m. timeslot to 2:00 p.m., and give the 3:00 p.m. hour back to its affiliates. 3 p.m. happened to be the recommended timeslot for a new syndicated Katie Couric talk show, which was produced by Disney and mainly picked up by ABC affiliates. ABC was actually considering cancelling GH instead and having Katie as a de facto replacement, but felt that the the poor reception to The Revolution and the inevitable revolt that would occur if the network killed off its last remaining soap opera (one which also served as a new home for several OLTL actors and characters), would likely lead to a PR disaster.
The timeslot was briefly filled by the Good Morning America spin-off Good Afternoon America until the start of the new TV season. Said spin-off ended up becoming Hilarious in Hindsight when The Chew was cancelled in 2018, and replaced by the eerily similar GMA Day.
This series provides examples of
- Five-Man Band
- Tim Gunn, the fashion consultant
- Harley Pasternak, the personal trainer
- Ty Pennington, the home designer
- Dr. Jennifer Ashton, the physician
- Dr. Tiffanie Davis, the therapist and relationship expert
- Large Ham: YES, TY PENNINGTON NEVER CHANGES
- Reality Show: Most of the series was essentially The Biggest Loser Lite, with the focus on women working towards a health goal and following their progress.
- Spin-Off: The Revolution was ostensibly a take on The Biggest Loser (J.D. Roth also produced it), reinterpreted in the shell of a daily talk show, mixed with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (which possibly explained, besides the fact that it had recently been cancelled, why Ty Pennington was one of the co-hosts). Ultimately, the show placed a larger focus on the former.
