After just two weeks on the air, ABC has decided to pull Happy Town from the schedule. The TV show will be back but, for how long?
Happy Town follows the residents of a small town in Minnesota. After being plagued by kidnappings years ago, it seems the mysterious “Magic Man” has returned to start a killing spree. The cast includes features Sam Neill, M.C. Gainey, Geoff Stults, Lauren German, Amy Acker, Steven Weber, Ben Schnetzer, Sarah Gadon, Jay Paulson, and Robert Wisdom.
The series got off to a poor start two weeks ago with a 1.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 5.25 million viewers. Last week, for episode two, viewership took a nosedive to a 1.2 in the demo and 3.79 million viewers.
To no surprise, ABC has pulled Happy Town for the remainder of May sweeps. After tonight’s episode, the series goes on hiatus for two weeks and will return on June 2nd.
While this wouldn’t necessarily be a sign that the show will be cancelled, the ratings are. They’re terrible and there’s every expectation that they’re just going to get worse — especially with warmer weather coming and people spending less time in front of the TV.
After tonight’s episode, there are just five episode left. With numbers like these, fans of Happy Town will be lucky if the network shows the rest of them, never mind a second season.
Next week’s episode will be replaced by an edition of Primetime: What Would You Do?. On May 26th, ABC will present the network premiere of the Transformers movie.
What do you think? Why isn’t Happy Town performing better? Is it just not a very good TV show or are viewers just missing the boat?
Image courtesy ABC.
@ Kyle, I agree!
Good show needs a chance maybe different network
Don’t cancel this! We are hooked! Not only that….if Harper’s Island could rap up in a season then write Happy Town in a season. Happy Town is just plain campy fun!
“Happy Town” is one of those shows that, by premise, has potential. However, the bad writing kills any potential it may have. It seems that the writers are attempting way too hard to build suspense and mystery into situations, then leaving them unresolved with not so much as a clue as to what the mystery might mean. Some examples of these untouched mysteries include the very cores of the show – who/what is the magic man? Who, really, is Chloe? What does Chloe have to do with ANYTHING? This was a show that has SO much potential, but the horrible,… Read more »
Good God 2 shows slapped on right before sweeps and they yanked it. Who the hell knows if it will be good or not how about letting a show find an audience before yanking it. Or not F*** with the time slot perpetually or not canceling REALLY good shows like Pushing Daisey’s for **** dancing shows !!!!
Give it a chance! I’m intrigued – I don’t even know if I’m a fan yet. How can the network know. I just know I’ll tune in tonight because so far, I’m interested. It’s unique and that says a lot right now. There is a place for reality t.v., family friendly sitcoms, medical/cop dramas but please, there is enough of that.
What took them so long? This show was a dog from the start – very poorly written, directed and performed. One wonders how it even got into production in the first place. What a waste of resources. I only watched because it allegedly featured the usually terrific Amy Acker – who appeared for all of two or three minutes and half a dozen lines in the first two shows, in spite of her third billing in the credits. I’m sure she has her “featured episode” in the can, given to each ensemble cast member – just wonder if we will… Read more »
Too bad. It’s a good show, they just showed it at a bad time. Maybe if people would stop calling it a rip-off to Harper’s Island and Twin Peaks then they would enjoy it. I mean c’mon! Harper’s Island plot involved a wedding, HT does NOT!
The premise of Happy Town is great but the writing is terrible. I actually find myself cringing at some of the lines they use.
wow, that didn’t take long. That’s too bad, the show has potential.
Please don’t pull this show. Give it a chance to find a following. We have DVR’d the show because it is currently showing opposite the NBA playoffs, which take a front seat in our house, but our family of 4 is hooked. It ‘s so nice to have something that isn’t a medical show or police/CSI drama! Happy Town has the potential to be a great series if ABC will let it develop. I just hope it doesn’t go the way of October Road!
The writing is just off the mark, but nothing amiss with that acting. I hope that the producers use this hiatus is used to eliminate (fire) some dead weight if they want to stay on the air.
This show is terrible.I hope it gets cancelled.
Come on guys! 2 shows. I love this show and am telling everyone to watch. Give it a seasons chance, we haven’t had time to even get hooked. There are the beginnings of what seems to be great story lines. The mystery of this show has been missing from TV for a long time with only a few exceptions. It is a refreshing change from hospital drama.
I love this show….don’t cancel it. 🙁