After months of uncertainty, the fantasy/mystery series has been cancelled and won’t be returning for a second season.
The Dresden Files was based on a series of novels by Jim Butcher and followed the adventures of Harry Dresden, a wizard who helped the police solve cases. The show debuted on the Sci Fi Channel on January 21, 2007 and ran for 12 episodes. Though the series’ ratings weren’t very strong, a loyal fanbase had hoped that Dresden Files would be renewed for a sophomore year. That didn’t happen and Sci Fi has now confirmed that the series is done.
Perhaps not coincidentally, this news comes on the same day that its been announced that Dresden Files star Paul Blackthorne has joined the cast of new ABC drama Big Shots. Blackthorne will play a high-powered CEO that draws the envy of characters played by Joshua Malina, Dylan McDermott, Christopher Titus, and Michael Vartan. Big Shots will begin airing this Fall on Thursday nights, following Grey’s Anatomy on ABC. Stay tuned! 
More about:
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I loved Dresdan FIles, sci-fi shows just never get a chance!!!!!
Fatbrad – you are an idiot – Firefly was on USA for a short period 4 years before it hit SciFi, just like Enterprise. Firefly was rerun to boost the movie
this was the best show sci fi had ever ha. why did u guys have to end it. Me and my entire family loved this show and now it is cancelled and that ticks me off. I think sci fi is really stupid for doing this and its not like they had alot better shows on even their movies are horrible, just with the graphics.
You guys have to bring this show back just to finish it and i thought it was a great show.
Dear Sci,
why you guys haded to cancelled the best show ever? this was a terrific show i seen, in other comments other people like this show, not like this show but love this show, but you guys haded to shut it down. the series was just getting started and interesting as well.you guys might not have very good ratings because not people have cable or sattelit dish for seeing this show. why not show it on air just like the CW does….etc… i REALLY love this show………….
The Dresden Files was a fantastic show with a brilliant cast. I simply adored Terrence Mann’s portrayal of the snarky yet tragic ghost, Bob AKA Hrothbert of Bainbridge. This was an incredible show. Why were there only twelve episodes? It had so much potential. Canceling this after only twelve episodes is as much a sin as it would have been if WB (now CW) had canceled Buffy The Vampire Slayer after it’s first season. The show and it’s story lines were only just beginning to unfold. Sure this was a different universe from the original novels that it was based on but that is what made it exciting and enticing. The stories were fresh and new and you did not know what was going to happen next. And many of us fans of the original novels were actually pleased about Bob’s transformation from the two dimensional talking skull comic relief of the books to the intelligent and cleverly crafted ghost character portrayed by a great Broadway icon for the show.
Instead of telling the truth the Scifi Channel allowed people to believe that Paul Blackthorne (Harry Dresden) had left the show and that’s why it was canceled even though Paul Blackthorne only found new work when the announcement of if the Dresden Files would continue or not was delayed by three months. They never corrected rumors of low ratings even though The Dresden Files ratings were really very close to those of the flagship show, Battlestar Galactica. Right now on an amazon poll for the Scifi channel store has a poll in which The Dresden files is in the far lead as the number 1 spot for best show on the Scifi Channel. Someone even “misinformed” Variety magazine that The Dresden Files was the Scifi Channel’s biggest commercial failure. They seemed to conveniently forget about Pain Killer Jane and Trash… I mean Flash Gordan. That statement in Variety magazine earned that particular article more negative online comments than any other article published by Variety that year. The DVD sales for The Dresden Files are still going great. Robert Wolfe (one of the main forces behind the show) had great plans to develope the Hrothbert of Bainbridge / Winifred story line in season 2 and many fans were very eager to see this unfold. The Dresden Files message board on the Scifi Channel official website is STILL more active than many other discussion forum on that site.
Right now there’s a huge trend of wizard based TV shows such as Wizard’s of Waverly Place on The Disney Channel, the new show, Wizard’s first rule, and on BBC (soon NBC) Merlin.
So why is there no season two of The Dresden Files? Who was foolish enough to discontinue this show just as the seventh Harry Potter book was hitting store shelves and wizard fever was at it’s zenith? There were so many mysteries of unfolding plots not yet resolved. How did ending this show make sense at all? Why do they bring back the likes of Scare Tactics but not The Dresden Files?
The Dresden Files was the first truly great fantasy creation of The Scifi Channel. Thanks to the appearance of Doctor Who (thought somewhat cut down for commercials) and The Dresden Files I had thought The SciFi Channel was improving but with the loss of The Dresden Files I have again lost faith…
We want The Dresden Files!
You’re right Scifi you had to cancel Dresden to make room for more Ghost Hunters. The books are better anyway.
Shame on the person using the Johnny Cash name deliberately trying to upset the show fans. Just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean you should gloat or be glad that people who enjoyed it lost something that they took pleasure in. That’s pointlessly cruel. You claim to be a fan of the books but you’re glad Jim Butcher is no longer getting money from the series now that there aren’t any new episodes?
Scifi made a huge mistake and this show is now a cult classic. It’s too bad no one is brave enough or tough enough to try to rectify the loss of this show…
The Dresden Files is one of those rare series that manages to be an excellent combination of all the best aspects of television entertainment: interesting, unique, and expertly-written stories, quality acting, original plots & storylines, and a imaginative and captivating premise!
Harry Dresden is the perfect example of a hero of today – someone who tries their best to do what’s right and to help others – regardless of his own well-being or how difficult that may be. As an added bonus, Lt. Murphy is a leading lady with strength, courage, and skill, and who is excellent in an extremely difficult and dangerous job – Plus, unlike MOST TV leading ladies, she does it all with compassion, reasonable morals, and WITHOUT being a total shrew! These are the examples we NEED!
The Dresden Files is loved by thousands (over 13,700 folks have signed the petition) and NBC has even admitted to Dresden having a ‘cult following’, so there really is no logical reason for the show to have not continued. Sci-Fi claims they want more female viewers – Dresden has them in DROVES. Sci-Fi’s slogan is “What If” – this series is perfect for asking & answering that question every week!
So why hasn’t it been renewed??
Because canceling the Dresden Files was yet another illogical, ill-informed step taken by the Sci-Fi Channel in their effort to ‘mainstream’ the channel OUT of it’s original purpose. They’ve even stated in published articles that they’re considering renaming the Channel! Seriously, just how many USA Channels do they think can survive, much less prosper??!
Canceling a successful, beloved, quality, scifi/fantasy series such as the Dresden Files is yet another illogical, unintelligent, self-destructive step in alienating what’s left of their fan base and viewership. How many viewers do they think they’ll have once they’ve ‘mainstreamed’ the programming and filled it with ‘reality’ TV & wrestling – they’ll be splitting their viewship with the USA Channel!
Sci-Fi Channel needs to fill the void it has left through it’s own actions of removing scifi/fantasy from the Channel: It needs to quit making low-budget, poorly written, made for Sci-Fi movies that make it hard to take the Channel seriously; It needs to air QUALITY science fiction/fantasy series; It needs to regain the trust of its viewers/fan base; It needs to put the Sci-Fi BACK INTO the Sci-Fi Channel. It can start by renewing the perfect example: the Dresden Files!!!
The Sci-Fi channel started out so well. Those of us who are
sci-fi/fantesy fans finally had a channel that catered to our taste in series and movies. Unfortunatley they changed. In 2007 they had a hit on their hands in The Dresden Files series. It even beat their flagship series, Battlestar Galactica. Even though The Dresden Files was only on for twelve weeks it quickly built a fan base. Even when they changed the time it aired we found it and continued to watch.
It is rare these days to find a series that combines supurb acting, imaginative scripts and good plots. Here at last was a hero everyone could identify with. Harry Dresden is a wizard/private detective trying to make ends meet. He only uses his powers as a wizard as a last resort, prefering instead to use logic and intellect to solve a problem or mystery. He draws on the vast experience of Bob, the ghost, to find solutions. Paul Blackthorn, Dresden, and Tarrence Mann, Bob, are excellent together. Watching them work together is a real treat.
Valerie Cruz does a wonderful job as Lt. Murphy, a hard-working police officer who has enough trouble dealing with the world she knows. She has reluctantly been drawn into the world of magic, wizards and demons. Paul Blackthorne and Valerie Cruz seem to effortlessly portray the ambivilance between the two characters.
It is easy to become enthralled in the stories and put day-to-day concerns aside while watching The Dresden Files. The producers and directors at Lionsgate have sucessfully blended mystery and magic.
This is a program that the entire family can sit down together and enjoy. It is a shame that the Sci-Fi channel didn’t renew the series. It was short-sighted of them. In this era of “reality” shows and series that rely on sex and violence to support weak plots, The Dresden Files was a refreshing change. There is no telling how far the series would have gone if there had been adequate advertising and more episodes.
It isn’t too late. The fan base still exists and we are still working to get the series back. We watch the series on Hulu.com every Saturday and discuss it on the Sci-Fi channel forum, come join us and discover what you have been missing.
Dresden Files is a sophisticated show that appealed to all ages. It was a show special enough to get me out of bed at 3 AM to watch the two hour Storm Front showing, it was special enough to inspire me to write on blogs, websites, various TV executives to protest its cancellation.
I have not ever felt the need to do that for any other show – ever. It made its way into my heart and I believe that its cancellation is one of the most egregious mistakes that the SciFi channel is probably already regretting.
I’ll try again. I’m an old Florida housewife. I stumbled upon The Dresden files. I did indeed fall in love. i searched everyday with my cable’s find-a-show thingy. for the Dresden files. A few shows popped up here and there. i taped a snippet just to get Dresden’s outfit. I wanted it for a halloween costume.
studio – have you no eyes; have you no ears; have you no heart? This show was such a feast of visionary splendor, of inordinate wit, of of of…. you fools. You stopped a classic for the ages. I miss it and I hate you.
-Barbara Ross
After i saw the series on tv i read all the books in the series in a year. Wish i could see more episodes. The way the films are directed lets me visualize the books that much better. Hope they will come back at some point.
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