Fans of NBC’s new drama Kidnapped just can’t seem to catch a break. The show debuted to a less than impressive 7.5 million viewers and the numbers dropped with subsequent episodes. As a result, NBC asked producers to wrap up the storyline in 13 episodes and the network moved the show to the television graveyard known as Saturday nights. A sad tale for one of NBC’s most anticipated new shows.
Well, it just got worse.
Only 2.9 million households watched the most recent episode. So, after airing for just two weeks on Saturday nights, NBC has pulled Kidnapped from the schedule, seemingly for good. Repeats of Law & Order: Criminal Intent will fill Kidnapped’s Saturday 9pm timeslot beginning this Saturday, November 4th.
Only five of the 13 serial drama episodes have been broadcast thus far. It’s been reported that the 13th episode has just recently been completed and NBC has announced that they’re making the remaining episodes available online via their website (as was done with the controversial The Book of Daniel series). It’s also been suggested that the series will ultimately be released on DVD. 
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I agree with the most recent comment. It was a GREAT series and you didn’t give it a chance! It was suspenseful and dramatic. We’ve seen enough of Law and Order repeats to last a lifetime. Please give this series a chance!
Kidnapped apparently was too compelling, intelligent and well-acted for NBC programming executives. Do they really think that the American public wants more of the same predictable, inane comedies with annoying laugh tracks or another can you believe it reality show?
Once again, network television proves why people are leaving in droves: overpaid executives expecting even greater and greater dividends for themselves and stockholders sell the vast majority of viewers down the river for failing to provide instant monetary gratification.
Used to be, a show would air at least half a season before being yanked. Because people knew they’d have some sort of chance to form a bond with a show, they tuned in. Now that network tv has turned into a this-minute-or-nothing golddigger, I see formerly regular viewers drop in swarms from taking another chance and expecting to get burned. NBC: you’re doing this to yourself, losing your long-term financial success by seeking short-term, short-sighted benefits. Pretty soon, you’ll be having to sell off shows like Heroes to other networks just to pay your bills. Oh wait, I forgot; you’ll just fire half your newscrews and start up some more inane, low-cost game shows instead.
I loved the complex storylines and great acting on “Kidnapped.” I was very sorry to hear that this great series was taken off the air way before it should have been. At least the latest episode is put online (although they are removed far too quickly, IMHO).NBC is making a huge mistake by not giving Kidnapped more of a chance, and not promoting it in the first place.
I have been very upset to learn that NBC has pulled Kidnapped. I have been setting my recorder to record the show and could not figure why Law and Order was recordered. It never occured to me that NBC had cancelled the show. Today I finally went on line to see what was going on, only to discover the show has been cancelled. It was a very entertaining show, much better than the reruns that are now airing in its place. I just cannot figure what NBC was thinking. I do hope that NBC reconsiders their decision and brings back Kidnapped. In my humble opinion this was a very ill thought out descion on NBC’s part.
I got into the show on the second episode, then…. poof the show was gone; kidnapped so to speak. Why? Is the network so focused on just one type of viewer? and ignores everyone else. Why is it when you have a new show that intelligent viewers like you cancel it?
This show is the best. it has everything in it, a great plot and suspense. I was very sad when i found out it wasn’t going to be on the air anymore. Bring Kidnapped back!!!
Apparently NBC did not learn their lesson after passing on Gray’s anatomy only to watch ABC pick it up and take it too the bank! I cannot get enough of this show!! My wife and I now have to sit at the computer now to watch it. At least there is now only one commercial. This show easily beats Law and Order (a show that I have watched for years). It’s no wonder NBC can’t earn their ratings. NO ONE IN MY OFFICE EVEN NEW ABOUT THE SHOW!! Now that they do they are hooked! Too bad.
ah! how come they took kidnapped off the air? it was one of the only shows on NBC that Ive gotten hooked on then you take it off because only 7.2 million people were watching it?? How was anyone supposed to watch it becasue you never gave it a chance and took it off air!, and its pretty hard to watch if no one can find it on NBC . It says it will come on but it never does. I hope it comes out on DVD. Oh yeah, and i love the fact that Canadians (which is me) cannot watch the episods online. It really sucks
Kudos to the writers of ‘Kidnapped the series’, even though it’s been cancelled to float the air waves of internet space, which I can’t download and watch…I still hunt blogs to read about this incredible show and to embilsh on what’s going on with this master piece. Any show that can kidnapp it’s viewer into searching for it aimlessly, had something really special…Don’t you think?
Posted by…Britten
As another poster mentioned, Canadians like myself are not permitted to watch episodes online and I was on the edge of my seat after watching the last aired episode. What are viewers like myself to do now? It had better come out on DVD SOON so I can at least rent it! Shame on NBC…..since it’s now only available online, they could have made an exemption and allowed Canadians to watch it as well. (sob)
The show FRIDAY NITE LIGHTS is one of the best shows on television! That’s to bad…
That means according to logic the network will cancel it telling us it didn’t get enough viewers….at least that’s the regular pattern.
Once again a network pulls a show because it didn’t get enouhg viewers….but those viewers didn’t watch because they had moved it without informing them.
The one Saturday I saw 1/2 an episode at about 2AM?
The next Saturday it was listed at 9PM but didn’t come on.
Hard to watch if you don’t know where to find it. This is not thte first time a network has done this. They can air shows like Heroes (which I luv) 3 times but can’t find room for Kidnapped???
Did they really want it to succeed? I don’t know if the kidnapped boy is still in Mexico…..but I’d like to know….
It was a good show. I can not follow NBC’s logic and ask as another poster did, how can repeats of worn out shows produce better ratings? And (so poor to start a sentence with “and”) even if they do, there must be a low performing slot (1 AM?) where Kidnapped could be aired and we all could just record it. To start a story and stop it mid-way is not right to the viewers… NBC has lost my business for a while.
“Kidnapped” is the second time that I got involved in a TV series, that had a continuing theme and was camcelled by NBC before completion. The first was the lottery series that was cancelled this summer. If this happens a third time, I will stop watching this type of show on NBC. Hope another network picks up “Kidnapped” and continues it.
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