TCM Underground R.I.P.

On February 22 2023 it was announced that TCM Underground, Turner Classic Movies' Friday night/Saturday morning programming block dedicated to obscure and sometimes downright odd movies, was ending its run on Friday, February 24. Fittingly, the last movie aired on TCM Underground was Ed Wood's camp classic Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959). Given Millie De Chirico, who had programmed TCM Underground since 2007, was laid off in December of the past year (2022), the announcement of TCM Underground's cancellation perhaps came as no surprise to TCM fans. Still, the announcement was met with disappointment from the show's many fans.

TCM Underground was originally conceived by former Turner Classic Movies marketing director Eric Weber as a higher class version of the old horror movie anthologies aired on local stations, often with a host. The original intent behind TCM Underground was to attract younger viewers to the channel, which, rightly or wrongly, was thought to appeal to an older audience. In its earliest days TCM Underground even had its own horror host in the form of rock musician and movie director Rob Zombie. It was on October 14 2006 that TCM Underground was launched with an Ed Wood double bill of Plan 9 from Outer Space and Bride of the Monster (2005).

The first major change to TCM Underground was that it lost its host. Rob Zombie last hosted TCM Underground on December 16 2006, introducing West of Zanzibar (1928) and The Unholy Three (1925).  Turner Classic Movies never replaced Rob Zombie and the programming block continued to air without a host for the rest of its history.

A much bigger change occurred to TCM Underground in 2007 when Millie De Chirico became the show's programmer. Rather than the old horror hosts, Millie De Chirico looked to such Eighties cable television programs as Night Flight and USA Up All Night, as well as the late night programming of such premium channels as HBO and Showtime, for inspiration. TCM Underground began showing an eclectic mix of movies, from cult classics such as Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971) to such Hollywood oddities as Xanadu (1980) to such obscurities as Private Property (1960). Over the years TCM Underground aired such diverse films as the classic The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953), the B horror movie Alligator (1980), the classic Blaxploitation movie Coffy (1973), the sci-fi classic Death Race 2000 (1975),  Enter the Ninja (1981--the movie that started the Eighties ninja craze), the aerobics musical Heavenly Bodies (1984), the teen comedy Little Darlings (1980), the Japanese horror movie Jigoku (1960), the big budget sci-fi film Logan's Run (1976), the camp classic Prehistoric Women (1967), the propaganda film Reefer Madness (1935), and even the Seventies action movie The Super Cops (1974).

While many of my friends were, I have to confess I was never a regular viewer of TCM Underground. It was on just a bit too late for me. Even so, I would watch some of the movies shown on TCM Underground on the Watch TCM app and On Demand. I always appreciated its similarity to such programs of my youth as Night Flight and USA Up All Night. And I do think TCM Underground filled a much needed niche on the Turner Classic Movies schedule. Prior to TCM Underground it was rare that one saw such oddities as Spider Baby (1967) or The World's Greatest Sinner (1962) on TCM. Indeed, TCM Underground often aired rarely seen, truly obscure films. It was one of the few places where one might see Zig Zag (1970) or The Ninth Configuration (1980). And TCM Underground did show some true classics alongside the cult films and the more obscure movies.

The cancellation of TCM Underground leaves a hole in cable schedules that probably won't soon be filled. Programs such as Night Flight and USA Up All Night fell by the wayside in the Nineties, and TCM Underground took over their mantle of showing cult films and cinematic obscurities. There is currently no other program that does this on any of the major cable channels. It is little wonder that TCM Underground has a large number of devoted fans. Indeed, I have to wonder that TCM's ratings for late night Friday/early morning Saturday won't drop with the demise of TCM Underground.