Alcatraz: New FOX Prison Series; Cancel or Keep It?

The FOX network had great success with their Prison Break series for four years. They’ve now introduced a new TV show that revolves around Alcatraz, the most famous penitentiary in the United States. Will Alcatraz run for years or will it be quickly cancelled instead?

The Alcatraz series begins with the following statement: “On March 21st, 1963, Alcatraz officially closed. All the prisoners were transferred off the island. Only that’s not what happened. Not at all.” It turns out that every prisoner in the facility mysteriously vanished and they start reappearing nearly 50 years later, looking just the same.

FBI Agent Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill), Detective Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones), and Alcatraz expert “Doc” Soto (Jorge Garcia) work together to capture the felons and try to uncover where they’ve been. Others in the cast include Jonny Coyne, Parminder Nagra, Santiago Cabrera, Jason Butler Harner, and Robert Forster.

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The FOX series debuted last Monday with a pair of episodes that averaged a 3.3 in the all-important 18-49 demographic and 10.05 million total viewers. It was the best series premiere that FOX has had this season. What’s more, there seemed to be very little erosion as the two hours progressed, a good indication that those viewers would return the next week.

And they did. It’s not uncommon to see the numbers slip by 15-20% in the second week but Alcatraz only dropped 9% in the demo and about the same in total viewers. Last night’s episode drew a 3.0 in the demographic with 9.03 million.

The show is currently averaging a 3.2 rating in the demo and 9.71 million total viewers. It’s the sixth highest rated scripted series on the network this season (out of 16) and registers a “B” on our FOX report card. It’s outperforming venerable shows like House and Bones and freshman shows like Terra Nova and The Finder.

Unless the ratings continue to fall, it looks like Alcatraz will be around for awhile — hopefully long enough for the mystery to be solved in a satisfying way.

But, what do you think? Do you like Alcatraz? Is it worth watching week after week? Do you think it should be renewed for a second season or cancelled?