Double TV Jeopardy

Every TV season new shows come and go – sometimes too quickly – while some returning shows fail to meet up to expectations of both the viewing audience and the powers that be at the networks. The reasons for these – shall we say – failures are varied, ranging from little to no publicity by their home network, extremely stiff timeslot competition, poor writing or production value, etc.

This year there are several new shows as well as a few returning series that are currently in jeopardy mainly because of low ratings. And, while I don’t watch all of the shows mentioned below, they are the series currently in double TV jeopardy.

First, let’s start with the new shows:

1. Three Rivers on CBS – The drama that should have taken over for ER in terms of gripping medical stories, likeable characters (for the most part) and a worthy cause (organ donation) has, unfortunately, flatlined. Much behind the scenes drama has taken place with this new Alex O’Loughlin vehicle – namely recasting, reshoots of the pilot and then a network decision to air episodes out of order. Not to mention tough competition in the 9 PM Sunday night timeslot and an unrelenting machine called Sunday football.

The show opened with 9.1 million viewers, sank to roughly 7.3 million viewers the following week and received around 7 million this past weekend. And, while these numbers aren’t awful, when compared to the oppositions’ ratings – it’s not good – and the networks “need” for the 18-49 year old market just isn’t helping this show along at all.

2. The Forgotten on ABC – Much like the show’s title this new Christian Slater-led series is being forgotten by the viewers simply because of poor advertising by its home network and tough competition in the form of Julianna Margulies and her new series The Good Wife on CBS.

The series opened fairly well with 9.5 million viewers, but has maintained an average of 7.6 million viewers for the last 3 airings. Again, these aren’t terrible numbers – especially in the age of countless viewing options – but it’s not going to be enough to keep the show on the radar for much longer, as if it was even on most viewers’ minds to begin with.

3. Trauma on NBC – This action-packed drama about emergency responders in San Francisco had an extensive publicity machine behind it (thank you, NBC, I think) with countless promotion on TV, the internet, billboards, radio commercials and much more. However, all that publicity has obviously turned viewers away as each week, since its debut, the show has sunk lower and lower in the ratings with its last two airings only garnering 5.5 million viewers. This show, unfortunately, is solely existing on life support now.

4. Eastwick on ABC – This new series based on the John Updike novel and the box office movie The Witches of Eastwick had a strong opening with 8.5 million viewers, but has dropped significantly each week since then. The network has recently stated it is sticking with the show right now, having no plans to cancel it despite the low ratings, but that assurance could easily vanish as quickly as any spell cast by the lovely witches in the series.

The returning shows that are facing serious problems are:

1. Dollhouse on FOX – The network recently announced they plan to air all 13 episodes of the second season of this new Joss Whedon creation; but given the fact not one episode thus far has cracked 3 million viewers (and even performed lower than the new Syfy series Stargate Universe), how can the network stand behind a series that obviously costs them more each week in production value than they are making back in advertising revenue. The ratings numbers simply don’t support a continuation of the series, but the network, for whatever reason, seems to be on the side of this series at least for now.

2. Cold Case on CBS – For a show that had always been a fairly strong performer for the eye network and has been on the air for 7seasons, the ratings slump that this cop drama has found itself in is a bit surprising. Part of the problem could be the weak lead-in from Three Rivers, the overruns of Sunday football, which is either bumping the airing of new episodes entirely, pushing into a later timeslot or the competition from other networks; but it just strikes odd that this show is under-performing.

3. Heroes on NBC – What was once a ratings giant for NBC, Heroes lost a huge portion of viewers during its very weak second and third seasons, driving fans away in droves. With the return of the show for its fourth (and probably final) season this fall, fans have seemingly given up on this band of super-powered humans; which is a shame, as the show has somewhat finally found its rudder and is drifting along in the choppy TV waters at a better pace. This revival of better storylines and focus is largely going unnoticed by the general viewing audience; especially when you consider the show has only averaged about 5.7 million viewers every week since its debut.

4. Smallville on the CW – This Superman-in-the-making series has been on the air for an astounding 9seasons and with its move to Friday nights, it would seem that the viewers (if not the network) has seen this move as the final nail in the coffin of the series’ longevity. Each week the show has averaged a disappointing 2.5 million viewers, making this probably the least watched season of the show’s history. Creatively the show may be moving closer and closer to the Superman legend, but it seems like too little too late, as the viewers have moved on. The Justice League, the Watchtower and even the impenetrable Lois Lane cannot seem to save this series that once was one of the cornerstones of this newly monikered network.

So, there you have it: A look at some of the shows that are in double jeopardy at the major networks. They certainly aren’t the only ones “on the bubble” or simply waiting for the cancellation axe to fall, and they won’t be the last. It will be up to each shows diehard fans to make a stand for each series, for the networks to take another chance on them or for the fates to play their hand, ending each one as painlessly (hopefully) as possible.

Are there any new or returning shows that you are concerned about? NGTV would love to hear your thoughts.