FOX has thrown away the key on Alcatraz. The J.J. Abrams thriller has been cancelled after one season and 13 episodes.
Alcatraz follows the investigations of police detective Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones) and Doctor Diego Soto (Jorge Garcia). They work to uncover how 340 inmates and guards disappeared from the infamous prison in 1963 and why they’re now reappearing looking just the same. The show also features the talents of Jonny Coyne, Parminder Nagra, Jason Butler Harner, and Sam Neill.
Fueled by a lot of promotion, the TV series was launched in January and drew good reviews and strong numbers. The two-hour premiere attracted a 3.3 rating in the all-important 18-49 demographic with 10.05 million total viewers. Opposite some tough competition from CBS, Alcatraz was in second place in its timeslots.
In week two, the demo slipped 9% to a still respectable 3.0 rating with 9.03 million. Week three dropped another 7%. That wasn’t positive but not horrible either but the ratings just kept falling.
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In February, NBC launched season two of The Voice and Alcaraz’s ratings took a big dive. They ropped 18% on February 6th and then another 17% on the 13th. The numbers just kept falling after that.
The two-hour season (now series) finale was in fourth place in the timeslots and averaged a disappointing 1.6 demo rating with 4.76 million total viewers.
The first season of Alcatraz ended up averaging a 2.2 demo rating with 6.74 million viewers — and those numbers would have dropped lower had there been more episodes.
On our FOX report card — which ranks the network’s shows based on demo averages — Alcatraz has a “C” and that just wasn’t good enough to get a renewal.
FOX chose to keep Touch instead but the network stays in business with producer J.J. Abrams via the network’s Fringe renewal.
What happened? It would seem that Alcatraz just wasn’t compelling enough to keep viewers returning week after week. Plus, for the first time in quite awhile, all three of the major networks had really strong programming on Monday nights. Two of the competing shows — The Voice and Dancing with the Stars — are reality competitions and many viewers feel compelled to watch them “live” rather than catch them online or via DVR recordings.
All 13 episodes of Alcatraz have aired and the last episode left viewers wondering what would happen next. Unless the producers decide to share what they had in mind for season two, we’ll never know the answers to the show’s mysteries.
What do you think? Why do you think Alcatraz failed to hold onto a bigger audience? Did FOX make a mistake by cancelling the series? What will you miss about it?
Some guy come out of your shell do the research and start it again maybe have a word with the guy who released the first one they’ve opened the wardens door and found the scientist
Bring it back it was very good I liked it some please someone make season 2
They shouldn’t have cancelled it it’s a great show I love Alcatraz. And I’m not talking about the show I love the prison and island I’d want to take a tour there soon. I research on the island and prison with the prisoners. It’s history. I like the movies and shows. They should bring the show back. Renew it as an Alcatraz anniversary of shutdown or opening something please.
It was getting good it should have got back to catch the rest of them. You never know it could of be a smash it really?
Just watch the series. It was great hope someone like Netflix will pick it up. Hate how they left it. If it had poor ratings it was do to poor promotion on the part of Fox. I never heard of the show and just happened to come across it.
Very disappointing but typical for American TV that is ratings/money driven. Demands a follow up season to answer all those questions, develop the characters, entertain again all those millions who watched it.
What can you say or do?
I think that if it wasnt isolated to fox the ratings would be huge, this is what happens when sole entities try to control programs. What a shame as fantastic show, J J Abrams needs to get it out to other tv providers and continue to make the show
I wish to say that i am still hoping u would bring back Alcatraz it was on fox 2012 . why would they not make a 2nd season it was a great awesome show. would u try to still bring it back once this virus is over. thank u for reading my post .
Fox TV is a freaking joke! How could you do that to viewers that liked the program?
Because they left us freaking hanging with Rebecca Madsen! And Tommy Madsen! And they still didn’t explain fully how the inmates got there! Other than I guess a time machine! What a horrible disappointing to leave viewers hanging! They need to revise the show so we know what happened!
A show with a great plot and you canceled it on a cliffhanger?!! Sometimes I can’t believe this networks! It was better than Lost. I hope they change their minds.
Its now 2019 (almost 2020) and I have just finished watching Alcatraz again AND IT’S STILL ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS EVER!
Fox really Fked up when they canned Alcatraz!
how can i get seas0n 1
Also, no offense to the guy from Lost, but I’d bet my bottom dollar that this show would have had a few million more viewers per week if her partner was a hottie who took his shirt off during the show for made up reasons. ♀️ Like the bomb guy that died, but shirtless . . . For no apparent reason . . . #JustSaying
Nikky I think the guy from Lost was Awsomme the show of been great without him.. if you want a guy to take his shirt off go and watch a porn . I WISH THEY WOULD BRING THE SEASON 2 ON
I think all shows like this shows have an episode to tie everything up for the millions of viewers who did watch. If nothing else, you have 4.7 million viewers to sell products to and people wouldn’t be hesitant to watch new shows.
They need to get this back on the air as soon as possible and finish what they started on Alcatraz!