Though there are only six episodes, ABC has decided to pull freshman game show Downfall one week early.
Hosted by Chris Jericho, Downfall hasn’t been performing well in the ratings and continues to ire some viewers. Though viewers are reminded that the prizes being smashed are replicas, many still view the practice distasteful in a struggling economy and for environmental reasons. ABC is owned by Disney, a corporation that’s been touting a “go green” initiative.
The episode of Downfall that will air on July 20th has been deemed the “season finale.” The following week’s episode will be replaced by the first half of a two-hour edition of Wipeout, called “Wipeout Blind Date.” Beginning August 3rd, the timeslot will be filled by the returning Shaq Vs. reality series.
No word on when or if the remaining episode of Downfall will air. A second season is looking doubtful since the ratings for the show have been poor.
UPDATE: Though ABC ordered six episodes and had them all on their schedule for weeks, an ABC representative has confirmed that only five were actually produced. There is no sixth episode. Jericho tweeted that, because of the pace of the show and editing, they only ended up having enough contestants for five installments.
In addition, the host says that they plan to film additional episodes in the fall. However, ABC hasn’t announced that they’ve renewed the show or have ordered any episodes beyond the initial six. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.
What do you think? Does the smashing of prize replicas bother you? Should the show return for season two? Do you think it will?
Image courtesy ABC.
Even if they are replicas it is still wasteful! Those “replicas” are built from good material and must cost a pretty penny for the labor involved. After, all those materials are carted off to the landfill. It just seems tasteless when so many Americans are facing hard times.
Stupid show.
Ok people THE PRIZES ARE REPLICAS! THEY’RE NOT REAL! Chris is a great host and ABC is getting on my nerves with cancelling shows. First legend of the seeker and now this. It wasn’t the greatest show but it was a good filler.
Cry me a river…take it for what it is–cheap entertainment. If people don’t want to see silly replicas plummet to the ground, DON’T WATCH IT! I don’t understand why it’s such a hassle for people to change the channel when a show comes on that they don’t like. I know there’s an alarming degree of lazy people in this country, but all it takes is one finger pressing a button on the remote…you don’t even have to get up to change the channel anymore! Let us enjoy our silly reality television and whine about something that’s worth whining about.
It would be cheaper to buy two of the shotty prizes and smash one than to “build a replica”. I think they are lying… And the show sucks.
This show stinks…cancel it!
I watched the first show. Not only was it distasteful destroying the prizes (real or replica) the most important thing was that show just plain sucked. It was not a fun show to watch.
Vin Broccoli would have been a better host!
My problem is not the replicas getting smashed or being jealous of it, it’s simply an unexciting show. Sorry Chris Jericho, you’re a good host, hopefully you can find a better show to host. Although I would tease my mom by saying she’d make a great contestant(she’s real afraid of heights). lol
Yeah, except Chris Jericho has Tweeted that Downfall hasn’t been cancelled. They only filmed five episodes, with more being done in the fall.
Check it out for yourself.
http://twitter.com/IAmJericho
I think this show stinks. I dont believe all the stuff they wreck are ” replicas” Give me a break!! ABC stands for already beeen cancelled so get on with it with this one.
give me a break, its a game show. Who cares if people are upset at the show, its only replicas. What is distasteful about the show. They aren’t smashing real prizes, if you ask me people are hating it because they see chris jericho, instead they should love it because of a high caliber athlete and superstar like jericho
[…] TVSeriesFinale.com is reporting that ABC has decided not to air the sixth & final episode of Downfall, scheduled for July 27th. Instead they are showing a 2 hour episode of Wipeout. Next week’s episode is still scheduled to air. […]
I agree Freddyboy1983!
Also, I think the only people bothered by the smashing of prize replicas is the people who STILL don’t get that they are actually replicas.
I dont like the show! Toobad for Chris Jericho tho! I would love to see him hosting something else soon!
Typical ABC, doesn’t surprise me one bit that show being cancelled, why does ABC even allow these shows on it’s network. Just because a low rating, what about how many people actually watch the shows. Oh 5 million people watched this, that’s not good enough? Maybe ABC should get a new owner, there are some stupid shows still on air with low ratings and they still are airing.