Tonight marks the last episode of The Event for 2010. NBC plans to relaunch the series in three months, on February 28th, after letting their new series The Cape have the timeslot. Is it a risky move? Not really. Ultimately, they don’t have much choice.
The Event follows Sean Walker (Jason Ritter), a young man who’s investigating the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend. He slowly begins to uncover the biggest cover-up in the history of the United States. Others in the cast include Sarah Roemer, Laura Innes, Ian Anthony Dale, Scott Patterson, Clifton Collins Jr., Taylor Cole, Lisa Vidal, Bill Smitrovich, Zeljko Ivanek, and Blair Underwood.
The series debuted in September to decent ratings with a 3.6 in the 18-49 demo and 10.88 million total viewers. That’s a healthy sampling but, considering all of the promotion that NBC put behind it, the programmers were likely disappointed by its third place rank in the timeslot.
While some viewers clearly love the show, more than half who watched the first episode have already lost interest. The Event has been losing viewers, sometimes as much as 15 or 20% in one week, and to date has never shown an increase week-to-week in the demo. The most recent installment garnered just a 1.7 rating in the demo and 5.19 million viewers.
You can blame the network for not doing a better job of promoting The Event but clearly there’s a problem with the series when people who already watch don’t feel compelled to return week after week.
Will this February “relaunch” help? Based on recent TV history, the answer is no. Just look at V and FlashForward. People who were interested in The Event have either already tried it and stuck around or given up on it. Those who haven’t watched previously are very unlikely to give a try because they assume that they’ve missed too much backstory already. On top of that, when the show returns, the ratings will likely be lower than what they are now. By the time The Event returns in February, many casual fans will have already gotten involved with other shows.
The one thing that The Event has going for it is the fact that it’s on NBC. The peacock network continues to struggle and The Event is currently the fifth most-watched scripted program on the network. If things go as expected, it will drop much lower on the list next year. Still, with the exception of The CW, NBC is the only network that would consider giving this series more time. They’ll surely let all 22 episodes air.
The Event returns on Monday, February 28th and will have 12 more original episodes to air at that point. Will there be a second season? We’ll have to wait and see but hopefully the producers will plan ahead and not end the show without any resolution.
What do you think? Does The Event have a chance for survival? What could NBC do to save this show? Anything?
Image courtesy NBC.
If you want to save this show and make it the best on television, read my other comments above under mm and contact me at mentoringinformation@gmail.com
I think the idea behind the show is good. However, I don’t think the execution has been good. The cast really doesn’t interest me, and the stories during most episodes don’t develop at an exciting pace. I really think that Lost was a one hit wonder in this kind of scripted program. All other attempts have failed to get people’s interest. The normal TV audience is not able to keep focused week to week on any kind of story line other than reality TV. Maybe The Event needs more dancing.
I agree about pulling the rug out before it’s necessary. Many people I now might have stayed with it, but heard that this show, too, “might be canceled.” I think it is getting better as the story unfolds. They should have put a preview at end last night or said…”to be continued.” To have to go online to find out what’s happening with a show when they plan to air all the episodes anyhow, is foolish.
I love the story, but they have chosen a weak couple of lead actors to lead the way. The young man (Ritter) needs to shave, and his fiance constantly looks like she’s about to start laughing in the most serious of scenes. Focus less on those two and you’ll keep me.
This is an amazing show! AMAZING! I LOVVEEEE IT!. buttt it is a show that makes you think…. so the general american public is too stupid, and too lazy to watch it… this is why they lost interest. Im just sayin’ I really hope it doesn’t get canceled!
My husband and I both love The Event. It reminds us of 24. We think it is very suspenseful and hooks you in. The characters are interesting and the plot holds our attention. Maybe the previews at the beginning need to explain a little more of the storeyline for those of you who feel the need to catch up, but we are not having any problem keeping up with what is going on. We have watched it since the beginning and will continue to do so if they could just stop talking about the poor ratings and that they are… Read more »
Anti conservative tone turned people off.
We wanted to like The Event, we really did. We love Jason Ritter, and dutifully watched the first couple of episodes. The problem is, we didn’t care. It didn’t grab us with mystery like Lost or interesting characters like House M.D. It was just… there. And with so many channels to choose from, we don’t have to sit through shows that don’t grab us. I wish I could explain more why we didn’t care for it, but the bottom line is that we felt disconnected. It just didn’t bring us in, and we quickly grew bored. Sorry to those who… Read more »
I am prepared to stick with shows that require you to invest in them. I stuck with LOST throughout the entire run . I liked FLASH FORWARD and would have like to see where it was going although I wasn’t surprised it got canned. The Event just isn’t doing it for me. I find I am watching it but really not engaging. I am not caring about what the “event” is or the characters. Also, I am finding the flashbacks cumbersome and find sometimes that they interrupt the pace of the show . I suspect with this hiatus this series… Read more »
When i 1st seen the trailer, it looked damn good, soo many questions. After the 1st episode aired, it raised more questions than it answered. Like the most obvious one, “Where did the plane go.” I figured hyperspace, or slipspace(halo fans) or a wormhole, which turned out to be something close to it. As the episodes continued to air, they kept getting better and better. There were a couple that were like “bleh. wasnt worth staying up all night to download it off zune on xbox live”, but EVERY tv show and some scenes in EVERY move has their momments.… Read more »
well here we go again, another good premise, that will inevitably go the way of the other smart shows like arrested development, heroes, or any other show that makes you wait and get invested. We are unfortunately living in a time when shows like the biggest loser, and the apprentice grab the masses attention…. screw it I’m sticking with the Walking Dead, and amc, atleast they will give a show a chance. IM DONE WITH NETWORK TV!!!!!!!!
I think this show “The Event” has alot of promise. I have been involved in the hollywood business for a long time and I know exactly what to do to revamp this show into a mega-hit, and be the most successful show on television, but I don’t come cheap. I have helped many productions with my unique abilities to become the best television shows they could be and far surpass their network and cable competitors in the same time slots of there adversaries or not. If you have the funds and want my help, contact me.
NBC would do well to direct folks to their website to watch full episodes of The Event during the run of The Cape, to keep/build an interest in the relaunch. I look forward to Feb 28, but as a Smallville fan for 10 years, I am curious about The Cape. There should also have been an episode to give us greater insight into the aliens’ homeworld – it would give more credence to Sophia’s desire to return or to Thomas’s reluctance. The only thing we know about them thus far that sets them apart from us is that they don’t… Read more »
This show is amazing. My family and friends all love it. I wish I had like 6 million friends that all loved it so the ratings would be better but I don’t :(.
An intelligently written program with a skilled placement of events. Several viewers that I know have been watching it less because it was rumored to be canceled. This being a long storyline, there’s a lot to personally invest if only to have it disappear from the programming slot. Many of the people that turned off The Event are in fear of being left hanging like what was done with FlashForward. If NBC wants retention of viewers they cannot launch and drop programs. The decline in ratings for The Event are due in part to NBC not committing to conclude programs… Read more »
I couldn’t have stated myself better than you have. Right on target…especially that NBC needs to STOP pulling the rug out from under the viewers feet if they ever want to build an audience again. Commit to an entire first season, minimum, for all new shows.