ABC has decided to run the season (likely series) finale of Detroit 1-8-7 this Sunday, March 20th, at 10pm. The freshman drama is airing on a special night because it was pre-empted by a 20/20 special featuring an interview with Charlie Sheen a couple weeks ago.
Detroit 1-8-7 is, of course, highly unlikely to return for season two. The TV series’ ratings have been terrible and just about anything else the network has put on in its place has performed better. It’s currently averaging a very disappointing 1.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 5.64 million viewers. That makes Detroit 1-8-7 the lowest-rated scripted series still on the network. Tuesday’s installment registered just a 1.2 in the demo.
Here’s the finale description from ABC:
SEASON FINALE
FITCH FACES OFF AGAINST HIS RUTHLESS NEW YORK ADVERSARY, ALBERT STRAM, WHILE HIS LIFE, THAT OF HIS SON AND THE REST OF THE SQUAD HANG IN THE BALANCE, ON THE SEASON FINALE OF ABC’S “DETROIT 1-8-7” Michael Imperioli’s Real Life Son, Vadim, Continues in His Guest Starring Role as Fitch’s Son, Bobby
“Blackout” – Fitch’s past comes back to haunt him when his old New York nemesis, Albert Stram, makes his presence known in Detroit just as the veteran detective is enjoying spending time with his son, Bobby. Stram’s not so subtle threats shake the usually unflappable Fitch. Meanwhile, the other detectives are called to the scene of a horrific homicide to find an entire family brutally murdered. Fitch tries to put the pieces of the puzzle together and it leads him to a devastating conclusion. With his back against the wall, Fitch asks Washington to protect Bobby, then leads Longford and Mahajan on an extremely dangerous mission to trap Stram; but which side of the law will he come down on in order to save his family and those in the squad? Meanwhile, Longford has second thoughts about his retirement; but is it too late? It’s a crucial turning point in the lives of all the detectives, on the Season Finale of “Detroit 1-8-7,” SUNDAY, MARCH 20 (10:01-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.
Note: This program replaces “Brothers & Sisters: Call Mom” which moves to March 27.
“Detroit 1-8-7” stars Michael Imperioli as Detective Louis Fitch, James McDaniel as Sergeant Jesse Longford, Aisha Hinds as Lieutenant Maureen Mason, D.J. Cotrona as Detective John Stone, Jon Michael Hill as Detective Damon Washington, Shaun Majumder as Detective Vikram Mahajan, Natalie Martinez as Detective Ariana Sanchez and Erin Cummings as Dr. Abbey Ward.
Guest starring in “Blackout” are Vadim Imperioli as Bobby (“Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom’s For One More Day”), Megan Dodds as Jess Harkins, Tommy Flanagan as Albert Stram, Carl Lumbly as Vincent Lawrence, Tessa Thompson as Lauren Washington, Troy Winbush as Deputy Chief Johnson, Clifford McGhee as Tyrell Hayes and Jason Wells as Wendell/personnel director.
“Blackout” was written by Jason Richman and directed by Kevin Hooks.
“Detroit 1-8-7” is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound. A TV parental guideline will be assigned closer to airdate.
This episode of “Detroit 1-8-7” will be available on ABC.com the day after airing on the network for users to watch online. For more information on “Detroit 1-8-7” please visit ABC.com.
What do you think? Why do you think this TV series didn’t catch on? What worked? What didn’t?
Image courtesy ABC.
I love this show. It just did not have a chance on Tuesday evenings – against the Good Wife and Parenthood. It also was not aired every week. It is a great show, with wonderful actors – I fell in love with all of them. I would only hope that abc would give them a chance at another season on a different evening. It really is a great show, great writing, great actors and great music. I am so upset if this will be the finale, and I just happened to catch the show as I was going through the… Read more »
A real shame. The writers doomed this show in the first episode. Poorly written at best. We gave it another chance because we have a fondness for michael imperioli. We have really enjoyed the series since. Really the best cop show since NYPD Blue. There are very few shows that you wish were longer than an hour. This is one!
I Love love this show!! I am so upset that it might be cancelled. I hate all those reality
shows, boring. I love cop dramas, the writing and acting on this series are great. I watched or recorded either this show and the Good Wife every week without fail. Please don’t cancel this move it to a different night. Come on ABC get your act together.
Detroit 187 is a great show. That this show is doomed to fail is no surprise to me. Many good tv shows fall by the wayside for reasons beyond my understanding. If this is in fact the series finale, I will be greatly dissapointed. Great characters and reminiscent of NYPD Blue.
This show is great. The actors,the writers,all are very good. What is ABC going to put on,another reality show?
I too, hate to see this true to life show cancelled.
i love this show and dont want it to be cancelled! I can’t believe ABC!
I don’t think the beginning episodes were “exciting” enough and you had to follow it for a few weeks. I think it is very realistic with good writing and good characters. I like Michael Imperioli and hope someone picks it up for the next season. I don’t plan on viewing anything that takes its place unless it is extremely phenomenal. Perhaps they should just air the show at a different time or different day.
I was sick and tired of cop shows but found this one worth watching. It never made excuses for the way Detroit is; it just told good stories in the gritty reality that is this city. Yep. I’m a homer. I do get a kick recognizing the locations. But it’s the acting and I think well written scripts that make this show, not the city or the scenes. You could puit it in Cleveland, or Indy, or Pitt and I think I’d still watch.
DETROIT 1-8-7 is a breath of fresh air as compared to the boring cookie cutter shows on TV now. Great writing, great characters and the end of each episode makes our family want to watch the show next week – not like the cliff hangers that leave you irritated that you have to watch next week. The time slot for DETROIT 1-8-7 is bad and the show was preempted too many times (with shows I did not watch). How can DETROIT 1-8-7 build a strong following when it does not air every week? DETROIT 1-8-7 showcases creative writing that draws… Read more »
NYPD Blue ran its course, and people got tired of the format, and the continuing story line where you couldn’t miss an episode. Detroit is just a remake of Blue in a different city, with the same problem. So many of these shows fail because the producers don’t get the message — just solve crime. Stop worrying about who’s sleeping with whom, who’s divorced, who’s wife keeps calling because of the baby, etc. JUST SOLVE CRIMES. That’s what those of us who like crime dramas want. That’s why Law and Order was (and in some cases still is) so successful.… Read more »
It is a real shame. This is a great show. Excellent actors. Great haunting scenes of Detroits fantastic ruins. I just love the show. The main point as said above, it was up against The Good Wife which every other housewife is watching right now. Ithink it can be a little hard to follow sometimes. You have to concentrate. Love Michael Imperioli. He is such talent. Too bad nothing is holding for him right now. I won’t support this network in anything they replace this with.
Sometimes it’s difficult for great shows such as this to survive because it’s real life TV as opposed to Kartrashian “reality” TV. The latter is what people seem to want.
DETROIT 1-8-7 did not catch on for several reasons. First, it was up against THE GOOD WIFE. Second, it started out weakly, affecting a semi-documentary tone that was off-putting; the series grew more compelling when it abandoned that format. Third, ABC, it seems, never got behand the show. Fourth, its approach – though very much to my taste (fairly gritty realism) is not the current flavor (witness CSI type jazzed up cop shows). It would be nice if TNT or USA or even HBO or Showtime would pick this series up and give it some legs; I don’t think this… Read more »
I absolutely LOVE this show. The acting and story lines are great. The charaacters are so real and you can get into this show emotionally. I am just heartbroken that it is going to go by the wayside. Isnt there some way that this show can be brought back at a better time slot on a day of the week that more people might watch it ?