After seven years on the beat, the show’s over for Detective Lily Rush (Kathryn Morris). CBS has officially cancelled Cold Case.
Each episode of Cold Case begins by showing an unsolved crime from the past. The scene then flashes forward to the present day and a group of homicide detectives try to piece together what really happened, using old evidence and new interviews. The series stars Morris, Danny Pino, John Finn, Jeremy Ratchford, Thom Barry, and Tracie Thoms.
Cold Case began in September of 2003 and quickly became a staple of the CBS Sunday night schedule. The crime drama had a successful first season and, by season two, was averaging a 3.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 15.1 million viewers. For the next couple seasons, total viewership fell a bit but the all-important demo numbers rose, reaching a 3.8 in season four.
Unfortunately the ratings have come down quite a bit since then. In season five, the show averaged a 2.9 rating and about 12 million viewers. Last season, Cold Case sank lower, to an average of a 2.7 rating and CBS made a choice between renewing ailing Without a Trace or Cold Case. They chose to keep Cold Case but may have regretted it pretty quickly. This season, the show’s ratings dropped even further to a 2.15 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 9.6 million viewers.
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So, while the overall viewership isn’t terrible, the demo numbers are and that’s what brings the ad dollars. CBS often has the most total viewers, but they are often lacking in the 18-49 demo department.
To no surprise, CBS has cancelled Cold Case after seven years on the air. The show won’t be back for season eight next fall. Sadly, the show is not available on DVD. It’s believed that securing the rights for the show’s extensive use of period music is problematic.
What do you think? Are you sorry to see the series go? What could have been done to help the TV show’s ratings?
Image courtesy CBS.
Without a Trace last season and now Cold Case, Numbers, Law and Order and Ghost Whisperer, five of the best CBS shows on TV. Too bad that the networks pander to the so-called “18 to 49” demographic whose lives center around reality and dancing with the stars type shows. After all, 18 to 49 covers only 37 years of your life and with people living into their 90s, only a minority of viewers cares who gets to marry the multimillionaire or who’s swapping wives. Reality shows are for people who don’t have lives, but unfortunately, the networks don’t give a… Read more »
Wellll, I think CBS MIGHT, just MIGHT be on the road that NBC has been on for a long, loooonnng time and THAT would be BAD thing. Tough enough to get ANYONE to be loyal to INTELLIGENTLY written TV as it it is, so taking off shows like COLD CASE is, well…a LOT like what NBC does, EVERY SEASON!!
Next thing U know they’ll move NCIS to 10pm on a Friday night as an “experiment” and replace it with another unscripted, brain dead GAME SHOW.
Hmmm, sounds a little like FOX as well.
Careful, guys.
BillG
Cold Case, is ,without a doubt, one of the best shows on television! I can’t believe it’s cancelled.
Its terrible that they canceled Cold Case!! I love the show & I actually looked forward for Sunday nights. It would be nice when It gets on Dvd here in the us! I got the box set of cold case seasons 1 thru 5 that I bought from china so I guess I’ll have to wait for season 7 to be released in china also!
Maybe some other network would pick up cold case like they did with Southland when Southland used to be on NBC?
Cold Case is a great show. I love watching it every week. However, the time slot sucks. It’s up against The Pacific, which now ended, and other shows people watch regularly. You should move the show to a new time slot instead of canceling it. Save COLD CASE, please!
I am so sad there are no more cold case episodes. I think the whole cast, especially lily rush were terrific. There was just something about the series that pulled at the heartstrings and that is not often the case with tv series.
I agree CBS is notorious for putting their decent shows in time slots that set them up for failure and then they ax them it is horrible. They canceled Without A Trace, now Ghost Whisperer and Cold Case the only thing left that I watch on CBS is Medium and I will not be getting involved in anymore of this networks series. It is just too disappointing. I too hope that another more savvy network will pick up Cold Case and Ghost Whisperer because I will follow these series wherever they would move them. It would be fabulous if they… Read more »
wow!i still cant believe it. sunday eve has just become less then great. thanks to the writers and cast of cold case. now, get this soon to be (if not now) classic on dvd.
I think it is really sad when shows are relegated to demographic veiwing. Whatever happened to rating a show by viewers? I am in the 50 age group so I guess I don’t watch the commercials and “buy” according to their demo group. I hate that cold case has been cancelled. All that is left is mindless survivor shows and shows that have no plot what so ever. Cold case was by far one of the best shows on tv and CBS will not see me as a viewer anymore. Maybe if all of us banded together and boycotted this… Read more »
I am really sick to death of cbs being so damn stupid canceling cold case and ghost whisper, what about the loyal fans who have invested 7 years to these shows we watch these shows to escape we love the charecters. cbs needs to fire what ever moron in charge first guilding light now this, we as fans dont want to get invested in new shows we want what we fell in love with in the first place, i hope abc,nbc,or fox and even thr wb weill have enough since to pick these shows up to give no closer to… Read more »
I’m definitley disappointed that Cold Case is canceled. I think the main reason viewership dropped off is because the show aired on Sunday nights. It was always way-delayed because of football games. I think CBS is being short-sighted in canceling the show. I truly believe if they moved it to a better time slot, they viewership would increase.
I will definitely miss Cold Case. I looked forward to it every week.
How do you cancel a show with no closure? Anytime a show that has been on as long as cold case has been deserves a right to a proper ending. This is not good for all the die hard fans. I am upset but what choice do I have. I do agree the time slot on Sunday with the sport games was terrible.
My wife and I like Cold Case, but- if it had to go- the final episodes of this past season served as a pretty satisfying wrap-up. Scotty’s mom’s rapist killed in prison, Lily headed towards a reconciliation of sorts with her sister and discovering she’s an aunt, Nick reconnecting with his high school love….
It’ll be missed, but it finished strong.
I think this is a disgrace. They killed Cold Case with it’s time slot, putting it against Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters. It did well in it’s 8 pm time slot, but even then when the games ran late it screwed up the schedule.
I guess they’re gonna replace it with some mindless reality show. Well, you won’t get MY business. CBS, you made a huge mistake here!
philly,they won’t get my vote either!!!, every time there’s a decent show on t.v.they seem to want to replace it. CBS, everyone is not into reality,and hospital dramas okay!!