A couple weeks ago, the peacock network finally started airing their new Friends with Benefits sitcom. The pilot for the TV show was developed for ABC but they passed on the series and NBC picked it up. Now that the show’s debuted, is the alphabet network regretting their decision or will the sitcom flop and be quickly cancelled?
Friends with Benefits revolves around a group of friends who live in Chicago and their relationships are complicated to say the least. Ben Lewis (Ryan Hansen) is on the hunt for the perfect woman who can meet his impossibly high standards. His best friend, Doctor Sara Maxwell (Danneel Harris), just wants a compatible man and to raise a family with him. They end up turning to each other for both moral and physical support as they wait for their mates to come along. Others in the cast include Zach Cregger, Andre Holland, and Jessica Lucas.
The NBC sitcom debuted with a pair of episodes on August 5th. The first one brought a terrible 0.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic and only 2.34 million viewers. It was third in the timeslot, tying with a repeat of Bones on FOX. The episode that followed at 8:30 dropped 14% to an even worse 0.6 demo rating and 1.96 million total viewers.
The following week’s installments fell again to a 0.5 rating and an average of 1.84 million. They were in fourth place in the timeslot, only beating a repeat of The CW’s Nikita. Last Friday’s episodes didn’t do any better.
Friends with Benefits is easily the worst performing original series on NBC. To put it in perspective, Minute to Win It is doing terribly but still gets about twice the ratings of Friends with Benefits. The peacock network execs obviously didn’t have much faith in Friends with Benefits which is why they delayed it until summer. Still, just how badly the show is actually doing is likely still a shock.
There is absolutely no way that NBC will be renewing this sitcom for a second season. If anything, they’ll pull it before all of the episodes have aired. For right now, episodes 11 and 12 are scheduled to air on September 9th. That will leave one remaining installment but, with ratings like these, the network hardly has any incentive to want to find a spot for the season/series finale.
But what do you think? Do you like Friends with Benefits? Would you like to see it renewed for a second season or just quickly cancelled?
Image courtesy NBC.
I would like to say keep it . I just started watching the show when it stopped airing, and i love it.. !!! its so funny. and its actually relatable the actors are not even bad at all too !! I will be very disappointed if it gets cancelled, as it seems to already have 🙁 THIS SUCKS
This series is reeealy goooood i don´t know why it is not working…. It should be renewed !!!!
I am from Germany and I love this show, too. Watched it accidentally in the internet, by searching for the trailer of the movie “Friends with benefits”. There is so much junk out there and the people are watching them season to season to season… The tv show is extraordinary, smart and uncongested at the same time + the actors are handsome and talented = the outcome of this is, manymanymany potential!!! So what is wrong?!? Lately I found: ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT (5 from 5 stars) 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU (4 stars) ABOUT A GIRL (4 stars)… and many… Read more »
The only reason I watched it was because I am madly in love with Danneel Ackles.
She is the reason I continued watching it.
However, I can easily see why it was canceled so quickly.
they should definatly bring it back. i live in Britain but i couldn’t wait to watch it online every week. i bet f they brought it back and actuly advertised it there would be a lot more viewers
please bring back this show. i miss it soooooooooooooo sooooooooooo much!!!! they didn’t even advertise it. just happen to see it one night and one show hooked me. i watched the shows i missed online. i told other people about it and they, too, love it. nbc is stupid if they don’t bring it back.
It is a great show. If they radomly picked the Average American to have those Nielson Rating boxes, the ratings would change. They only give it to boring wealthy people. Give those boxes to people in low income people and you will see the good shows at the number one spot. I rather see this than Mike and Motley or Frasier.
I think it was just poorly advertised and in a terrible timeslot. Friday is a party/event night and people are out and don’t know to even record it.. I think it would fare far better on a different weekday.
The worst part is no one has heard of the show to know to even watch it, to date I have not found one person real life or internet that knows of the show already… That is bad.
This show was incredibly funny. I already miss it. Bring it back pleaseeee. Any maybe it would have more viewers if it were properly advertised? Damn peacock.
PLEASE BRING THE SHOW BACK!!!!!!!!!!! it was so funny and clever!!!! i would plan out my friday nights so i could watch the shows!!!!!!!!!!! its been a while since there has been a good tv show like this.. please bring it back!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please bring it back!!!! I LOVE this show so much! I think it wasn’t popular because nobody knew about it! There should be more commercials for it!
I liked Friends With Benefits. Only saw the show on accident as it was a recommended video on Hulu. I don’t watch many television shows, but I watched all of the available shows of FWB on Hulu. If the show were to come back on air I would definitely set my DVR to record the shows. I don’t think the show got the amount of publicity it needed to generate a good fan base. The writing was great and comedy reminded of a “Scrubs” type of comedy, which I love. I vote to bring the show back.
please bring this show back!!!!!!!!!!!!! i love it.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE bring it back!!!!! It was my favorite new show, it kicks the ass of stupid “Two and A Half Men” and other such shows that mysteriously are still around.
No one knew about “FWB”, which is why it didn’t do very well….but it is SO good!
pleeeeeeeeeeeaassse renewww back FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS!!!!!!!! I loved it!!! its mad funny yo!!