ABC’s new outer-space drama debuted on Sunday night. Will Defying Gravity be allowed to complete its mission or, like so many shows before it, be lost in space?
Defying Gravity follows the adventures of eight international astronauts as they fly a spaceship named Antares. On a top-secret mission, their lives are being recorded and telecast on Earth as part of a documentary. Despite the fact that the crewmembers wear libido-suppressing devices, there are plenty of romantic entanglements.
The show features the talents of Andrew Airlie, Christina Cox, Paula Garces, Laura Harris, Peter Howitt, Florentine Lahme, Karen LeBlanc, Ron Livingston, Ty Olsson, Zahf Paroo, Eyal Podell, Maxim Roy, Dylan Taylor, and Malik Yoba.
The sci-fi drama’s storyline is strangely similar to the failed pilot for Virtuality that aired a month ago. Defying Gravity is a Canadian series that’s co-produced by CTV, Omni Film Productions Limited, and Fox Television Studios. Filming has been completed on all 13 episodes of season one and Defying Gravity is currently airing in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States.
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The show has been pitched as “Grey’s Anatomy in space” but unfortunately it hasn’t attracted the same level of viewership for ABC. Defying Gravity debuted on Sunday with a pair of episodes and was outperformed by competition of predominately repeats. The first hour attracted merely 3.83 million viewers and only a 1.1/3 rating/share in the 18-49 demographic. The second hour dropped to 3.56 million while the demo numbers stayed the same.
Defying Gravity moves to its regular timeslot of 10pm this Sunday night. Based on these numbers and the expected drop in ratings for the show’s second night, it’s very doubtful that ABC will continue to air the series for very long.
One has to wonder if ABC really expected the series to last very long anyway. As of now, the network has only scheduled some of the 13 episodes. By the time that Brothers & Sisters returns for its fourth season, at most only nine episodes of Defying Gravity will have aired.
Whether ABC intends to move the show to a new night (normally Saturday but there’s college football coming) or pull it altogether remains to be seen. Either way, with numbers like these, it’s inconceivable that the show will be coming back for another year on ABC.
What do you think? Should the show have a future or should ABC just pull the plug and cancel it already?
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Image courtesy ABC.
I really feel this is a fun show to watch. yes it needs publicity I like others found out about just before the pilot aired . If it is going down I hope ABC airs the whole mini series. It is amazing how I have looked forward to shows this summer like defying gravity, the closer. Burn Notice and Leverage. There is nothing this fall except the last season of lost and 24 that I am looking forward too. Defying Gravity has a limited audiance, so maybe one of the cable channels that show the above shows will pick it… Read more »
I’m tired of the reality show junk! This is great sci fi/drama. Solid special effects and good acting.
Wow, I still didn’t say it…so here it is: I REALLY ENJOY THIS SHOW.
PS- I didn’t really say that I really enjoy the show. Also, like someone else posted, it’s the ONLY thing I watch on ABC, minus Scrubs which isn’t their invention to begin with.
You know what would have helped? Some publicity! I had no idea about this show until last night’s episode (Bacon). That was because I was scrolling the guide and checked to see what it was because I’d never heard about it. My FAVORITE movies and stories are the space-exploration-suspense-thriller (Event Horizon, Sunshine, etc.). There just isn’t that much out there like this, and that stinks! I must say though, they are taking quite some time to get the suspense elevated. Mostly it’s flashbacks and setting things up. We know about “Beta”, but they are taking a long time to give… Read more »
I also watch it on Hulu, the time it’s broadcast is right around bed time for my kid.
Do we ever get viewing figures from Hulu? Also, if it is getting more views online than broadcast, is the issue revenue from viewers? If so stick the same commercials in the hulu feed as you put in the broadcast, I watch it there as it’s on when I can see it, not for the ‘limited commercial interruptions’
Yes, keep it – and “time slot?” Really? I found it on Hulu and watched every episode up until “Bacon” on Hulu.
Keep the show, ABC.
3.86 million viewers week 1…………….how many watched the episode online besides myself????? When are these retarded TV execs going to start looking at the real numbers. The second I saw this I knew it would become another Firefly/Virtuality…..space love show with a plot twist that never unravels.
GG suits. GG
My wife and I watch it on hulu and really enjoy it. All it needs is to gain some audience just like Lost did. This is going to be a block buster! ABC needs to let it find its groove and the money will roll in. Great shows such as All in the Family, MASH, and Happy Days all have one thing in common. They all had low ratings the first season. What a loss it would have been if they were cancelled. ABC shouldn’t let Defying Gravity be the opportunity missed out on, like Firefly. We will continue to… Read more »
I have to agree with everyone else. I’ve been watching this and it is great. The characters are well crafted. The plots are gripping and thought provoking. It is true that the science is a bit unrealistic, but not having realistic gravity probably saves millions in shooting costs. Some tradeoffs must be made, and the story (which is what matters) is top notch.
Please keep this on the air ABC! I honestly don’t watch anything else on your station so it is a good inroad for the 18-34 demographic!
I’ve been watching them on Hulu and I can’t get enough. They had better not cancel it.
Come on! If you’re going to do a sci fi series, put some real science in and keep it consistent. Artificial gravity that lets them move around just like they’re on Earth and keeps every hair in place but keeps a load of puke floating so it can be conveniently bagged?!?!? WHo send out a multi-billion dollar mission with only one high-pressure suit and doesn’t fully test that suit until the mission has left orbit?!?!? What kind of safety protocol says test a suit by putting a human inside and exposing them to space?!?! If you are going to stick… Read more »
This show has the potential to be outstanding and should be given the opportunity to find its footing and its audience. I have been happily paying $2.99 per episode on iTunes and would like to see it continue.
I’m not a great fan of many TV shows, but this one pushes the right buttons for me. It’s on at a lousy time for me, so I have to make an effort to track it down at better times. It’s worth the effort.
I wish it would moved to primetime and kept. But if I like a show, it seems destined for early cancellation…