For the most part, FOX has really been struggling this season. When it comes to new shows, Empire is a hit and Gotham’s doing okay but Utopia, Mulaney, Gracepoint, and Red Band Society were dismal failures in the ratings and have already been cancelled. How’s Backstrom doing? Will it survive to see a second season?
On Backstrom, an offensive, irascible yet brilliant detective (Rainn Wilson) is brought back from exile to run Portland Police Bureau’s Special Crimes Unit. The rest of the cast includes Genevieve Angelson, Dennis Haysbert, Kristoffer Polaha, Page Kennedy, Beatrice Rosen, and Thomas Dekker.
With American Idol as a lead-in, the series debuted on January 22nd with a 1.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 7.98 million viewers. That was an okay start but there wasn’t much serious competition on the other networks.
In week two, Backstrom had to start competing with Scandal on ABC and the ratings dropped more than 30%. In week three, NBC’s The Blacklist moved to Thursdays at 9pm and Backstrom dropped another 30% or so once again, falling to a 1.0 in the demo and 3.64 million.
In week four, the FOX series bounced back to a 1.2 in the demo and 4.39 million. Last week’s installment took another big tumble and Backstrom landed at a 0.9 in the demo and 3.54 million.
It’s pretty clear that, while Backstrom may have some devoted viewers, it’s not priority viewing for most people on Thursday nights. It’s pretty consistently in fourth place in its 9pm timeslot and is now FOX’s lowest-rated drama.
With numbers like these, it’s hard to imagine that FOX will renew Backstrom for a second season. FOX has some serious schedule problems but this show doesn’t seem to be a solution. There are eight episodes left in the season (only five are scheduled) so Backstrom has some time to prove itself with better ratings. This seems unlikely but sometimes miracles do happen. Backstrom could certainly use one.
But, what do you think? Do you like Backstrom? If you ran the network, would you cancel or renew this series for a second season? Would you change anything to attract more viewers?
I love Backstrom!!!!
I love this show and hope it returns..love it love it
Going to miss Backstrom didn’t think it had a fair fight with all the other new shows were flooding the channels! Hope for a Season 2!
Love the character Backstrom and haven’t seen this kind of police officer played. He’s complex and so are his relationship….especially with his father. He’s not the typical Law and Order cop. When is the last time you’ve seen a character speak his mind even if it’s not politically correct. It’s daring. Don’t let this one go.
My husband and I look forward to watching Backstrom each and every week. It is so different and refreshing . We really hope it will be renewed . I love the different personalities, they really work well together. We feel that it is one of the best shows their has been in years.
My son and I love this show!!! I’m going to stop watching shows on FOX if they cancel this show!!!
I love this show. Backstrom is such a real guy with real problems. Please give the show another season. I have everyone at work watching it.
We love this show. The cast is brilliant. Please do not cancel. I think this show deserves a second season.
Please please please renew this show. I stopped watching scandal for it
It’s really great acting, great drama/comedy and one I would definitely watch if you bring it back for a second season
Absolutely renew this show. The scripts gave the characters well-defined back-stories. The actors, especially those playing Detective Almond and half-brother Valentine, as well as ex-wife Amy, were excellent. A little different from the standard cop” who dunit ”
show. Hsrt Hanson does good work. Look at Bones.
I absolutely love this show and would hate to see it gone. It’s absolutely hilarious and gives me something to look forward to during the week. It’s one of the few shows I still watch and I think it deserves another season.
We LOVE this show and hope that Fox gives it one more go. Rainn Wilson is awesome in this role, both as the crass detective or the caring brother. Thomas Dekker as Gregory Valentine was a perfect fit — he truly brings his character to life and the interaction between the two of them is one of the things that’s keeps us wanting more. The supporting cast is amazing as well. PLEASE don’t cancel the show, it deserves one more season.
We LOVE this show and hope that Fox gives it one more go. Rainn Wilson is awesome in this role, both as the crass detective or the caring brother. Thomas Dekker as Gregory Valentine was a perfect fit — he truly brings his character to life and the interaction between the two of them is one of the things that’s keeps us wanting more. The supporting cast is amazing as well. PLEASE don’t cancel the show.
I absolutely love this show and Rainn Wilson is awesome as Backstrom. I love the supporting characters too. I pray this gets renewed.
I live this show. Brilliant character, acting and plots. This show need a good time. And a chance to run another season so more viewers can find this quality show. Tuesday or Wednesday could be better. Even Saturday is better than canceling. Love it very much and I will continue watching if Fox will give it time