Shark: CBS Gives James Woods Series the Hook — No Season Three
CBS has decided to cancel Shark after two seasons on the air. What killed the series?
Shark debuted on September 21, 2006 and stars James Woods as Sebastian “Shark” Stark, an arrogant and cutthroat prosecutor. The TV show did pretty well in its first season on CBS. It ranked 24th for the season with an average of 13.7 million viewers. The one downside was that the show’s viewers tended to skew older. But, in a season littered with prematurely cancelled drama series (Smith, 3 lbs., The Nine, etc.), the show’s ranking and survival was an impressive achievement. The series was renewed for a second season.
Season two kicked off on Sunday, September 23, 2007. In that 10pm timeslot, Shark had to compete against ABC’s popular Brothers & Sisters and consistently lost in total viewers and the all-important 18-49 demographic.
Like most shows, Shark’s production schedule was interrupted by the writers strike. When the strike was over, production resumed and four more episodes were created. After a long absence, new episodes began airing in late April. In the show’s new Tuesday night timeslot, it was easily beaten by ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and FOX’s Hell’s Kitchen in both total and 18-49 viewers.
The show’s chances for a third year were still up in the air until just recently. Ultimately, the combination of Shark’s inability to attract younger viewers, the writers strike, and CBS’ excitement over its new dramas is likely what led the network to cancel the series.
Woods tells the LA Times that the cast and crew were “very saddened” by the news but were trying to stay positive. He continues, “We’re a little baffled by the decision but we’re very supportive… None of us can figure out quite why. But we have no bad feelings. This show did an enormous amount for me personally. We all won doing the show.”
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The current season, cut short by the writers strike, is made up of only 16 episodes. Shark’s series finale is scheduled for Tuesday, May 20th. It’s unlikely that the episode will offer any kind of closure for the series. Stay tuned! 
No sniplet called Shark products
20. Stephen said,
Why does CBS & FOX Always have to cancel the good shows and leave the ones that suck on the air. Way to go CBS with yet another screw one but I guess you have to keep up with FOX on which company is the biggest screw up in history.
19. Robert said,
NOT SHARK!!!
Man is there anything we can do to have them change there minds??
CBS is REALLY MESSING UP!!
18. Chantal said,
A briljant show, great cast and good story’s, some things a lot of shows don’t have! And yet this great show is being cancelled . Unbelieveble.
17. LINDA M said,
I GUESS PEOPLE OVER 49 DON’T COUNT. WELL, CBS FEELS 18-49 WILL SUPPORT THEIR SPONSORS AND WE ARE DOOMED TO *** HAS BEEN CELEBRITIES WITH NO TALENT, AMAZING DOGS, CHRISTINE(!!! I’M SURE EVERY 18-49 IS WATCHING THAT) AND EVERY FREAKIN CSI CITY ON THE PLANET.
CBS IS LUCKY TO HAVE A SEASONED, TALENTED AND PERFECTLY CAST ACTOR IN JAMES WOODS. THEY TOOK JERICHO, THE UNIT AND NOW SHARK. JERICHO AND SHARK HAD NO PERMANENT TIME SLOT DUE TO THE WRITERS STRIKE. THE UNIT DID AND WILL BE COMING BACK. WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU, CBS???????????? BRING THEM BACK, GIVE THEM A HOME AND THEY WILL PAY THE BILLS. GET SOME SEASONED PERSONNEL AT CBS AND GET RID OF THE KIDS.
16. Stephen M said,
The reason that shows like this get cancelled is that the 18-49 demographic is getting smarter, not dumber. They know that the empty suits at CBS, Fox, ABC, NBC, etc., will cancel anything of a high quality or that is enjoyed by people with an IQ, so they don’t bother to tune in. After all, why get involved in a show and invest timewise and emotionally in a show and the characters if you know that the show is doomed to cancellation as soon as the show fails to reach some magic number, when it is put against mindless (and dirt cheap to make) shows like American Idol, Hell’s Kitchen, etc. And the networks also refuse to actually build a viewership, so if a show isn’t a hit right away, off it goes.
As an example, I’d probably enjoy the new Joss Whedon show, Dollhouse, coming to Fox in the fall (or so), but I probably won’t watch it, because I know that Fox will cancel it within 6 episodes being aired. And I feel comfortable saying that before the first episode is even aired. After all, this is the same outfit that cancelled “Drive” after only airing 3 episodes.
Network Execs: If you want us to watch your shows, how about making us feel safe and secure that you won’t cancel all the good shows we want to watch, and keep the crappy ones we don’t want to watch. Maybe a different ratings system needs to be created for unscripted shows, so that the quality programming ratings are not mis-judged against the ratings of those of the insanely popular but mentally unchallenging fare that passes for television these days.
15. Pat S. said,
Shark was always a great show, and I’ll miss it a lot. James Woods is a great actor, and Shark was a wonderful character for him. All I can hope for is repeats.
14. Dustin said,
I can’t believe the show is being cancelled. I am 14 and I watch the show, they said the younger audiance isin’t attracted but I really like the show. James Woods is a great actor, and he’s not the bad guy this time! Ha, I am going to miss this show.
13. Christine said,
This was a quality show which, unlike many, actually could be counted on to be reasonably accurate most of the time. Maybe it will be picked up by FOX or one of the DISH or cable stations. I thought it was exceptional, and I am pretty hard to please. Maybe that was its problem: it wasn’t stupid enough for the average viewer!
12. Jaws X said,
Send CBS Shark Teeth, millions of them !!! Hey if they brought back Jericho for a 2nd chance with only 7.7 million viewers for its Season 1 finale, then surely Shark at 10.5 million for its finale deserves a 2nd chance.
http://www.halfvalue.com/shark-teeth/search.html
11. Michelle said,
I am sad to hear that shark has been cancelled. I was really getting into the show since last season. I liked that they paired up Jeri Ryan on the show with James Woods. There was some great chemistry with the both of them, fighting between each other. I also liked the plot and stories they had put together. I was surprised to see that it was the series finale. I know ratings are very important but at least we should have a little more closure to the series. I really enjoyed last night’s episode with the serial killer and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I am 25 and prefer these type of shows aka Shark over the stupid reality shows that have *** and other things which we prefer to not watch. At least I don’t. In any case, sorry also to hear about James’ Woods brother. Sorry for his loss. I will buy both seasons on DVD though, I will miss this show very much. It would be nice to have a little more closure though for the series. I am bummed that this show will no longer be on any more.
10. Maribeth said,
I am saddened that CBS is going to cancel Shark - I just watched the finale and it was the best ever! James Woods is an excellent actor and he had me in tears! I watch Shark religiously every week whether they are reruns or not and I am not in the older age group - I am 46 years old and just think that the show is one of the best - James Woods shines
9. Rachel said,
I can not believe Shark is ending! I am very upset. I never miss an episode. Now what are you going to replace it with another Reality Show? Please change your mind. We learn more from this series than any of the shows.
8. LSAENZ said,
WHAT IS GOING ON WITH CBS? WHY WOULD THEY CANCEL A GREAT SHOW LIKE SHARK? WHY WILL THEY KILL OFF MAIN CHARACTERS LIKE WARRICK BROWN OF CSI? ARE YOU PEOPLE NUTS? WHY WOULD YOU CANCEL ANY SHOW THAT HAS WONDERFUL ACTORS AND RATINGS? I DON’T UNDERSTAND YOUR THINKING…YOU ARE MESSING WITH SOMETHING THAT WORKS…YOU KNOW THE “OLD” SAYING…”DON’T FIX IT IF IT ISN’T BROKEN!”
7. becky said,
I AM SO UPSET THAT THEY ARE CANCELING SHARK CBS IS LETTING GO ONE OF THE BEST TV SHOW THEY HAVE ON AIR TODAY I THINK THEY WERE LUCKY TO HAVE JAMES WOOD DOING A TV SHOW BUT THEY ARE TO DUMB TO RELIZE IT I THINK THEY SHOULD RECONSIDER THERE CANCELING THIS SHOW
6. Susan said,
I am 24 and I dont miss an episode. I love shark. i am saddened to see it go. It is well thought out and complex. I thought when his license got reinstated it would be ok. My husband told me that I was wrong… Guess he was right
5. Vicki Stanley said,
I am so disgusted over the cancellation of so many quality shows this season. “Shark” is one of the best, and James Woods is an actor of such depth, that I was surprised he was even doing a TV show. Guess you have to be a mindless twit, who is entertained by the likes of “Big Brother, which is nothing
more than a bunch of air heads getting it off on prime time; and the “Bachelor” which is a pathetic illustration of how shallow our youth is becomming. “Woman’s Murder Club” is also an extremely good show, based on a great book series by an outstanding Author. Guess most of CBS’s viewers don’t read or think that much.
4. Angie said,
Visit http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.shtml and tell CBS directly how you feel!
http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.shtml
Email them and tell them!
3. Vonnie said,
Their cancelling all the good shows, Crossing Jordan, Vegas, Shark, Women?s Murder Club, Wildfire, 7th Heaven?what is up? Keeping shows like the bachelor, Dancing with the Stars, Big Brother, and the Donald Trump show, The Amazing Race, give me a break all of the networks suck!!!! Do you have to be a ?Reality Show? freak to find something good to watch? ABC, CBS and NBC need to wake up and smell the coffee!!! Younger people are not sitting in front of the TV, they are out with their friends. It?s the older generation that sits on the couch and watches TV. Stop cancelling all the good shows and get rid of all of the reality ****!!!!!!
2. Scotty L said,
Love this show, one of the few series I buy the DVD boxsets for. Hate to see it go. =(
1. Kristin Petersen said,
CBS is “dumbing down the network”. They say they are going for “character driven dramas”. What do they think “Shark” was. James Woods is the definition of a “Character” driven dramatic actor. He is smart, witty, and challenging. Too much for the network to follow? I missed the 18-49 demographics by 1 year, but I think younger, (18-49ers) could use more intellegent, creative, well written shows, like “Shark” and less mindless reality based non-stimulating fluff. All the shows I watch have been canceled…”Shark, Moonlight, Woman’s Murder Club, and New Amsterdam”. I’m very disappointed in the network’s decissions. Who’s running the network anyway, 18-25 year olds. Even my 9 year old, 3rd grader is reading on a 6 to 8th grade level. Try challenging your viewing level a little.