Last night was the premiere of NBC’s much-hyped new series, Kings. Though the series has an impressive cast and big production values, few viewers tuned in to watch. Based on the initial ratings, will interested viewers get a chance to see the whole season?
Kings is a modern retelling of the classic David and Goliath story. It’s set in a modern world that closely resembles our own, except for the fact that what looks like the United States is ruled by a king. Kings is billed as an epic story of greed and power, war and romance, forbidden loves and secret alliances — and a young hero who rises to power in a modern-day kingdom.
It stars Ian McShane, Christopher Egan, Susanna Thompson, Michael Patrick Crane, Allison Miller, Sebastian Stan, Eamonn Walker, Dylan Baker, Wes Studi, Joel Garland, Jason Antoon, Sarita Choudhury, and Macaulay Culkin.
The two-hour premiere got off to a rocky start last night, to put it mildly. The first half hour attracted a poor 6.5 million viewers and a 1.6/5 rating/share in the 18-49 demographic. By the time the last half hour had aired, only 5.5 million were still watching with a 1.7/4.
 Loading ... |
Those numbers placed the debut firmly in fourth place among the big networks. It performed significantly worse than Celebrity Apprentice had the week before and proved to be the network’s second worst premiere of the season, behind last week’s Chopping Block.
NBC has committed to 11 more hours of the series which are set to begin airing next Sunday night. With a complicated premise and a little-watched premiere, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which even fewer people will tune in next week. With so few viewers, NBC will have little choice but to make a change in their schedule. What’s likely to happen?
In the past, NBC probably would have simply pulled the show from the schedule and opted to leave a bunch of unaired installments sitting on the shelf. In these tough economic times however, that’s not a very viable option. As was the case with Crusoe, they’ll likely move the remaining episodes to Saturday nights to burn them off.
No matter what they decide to do with the existing episodes, unless viewership radically improves, it’s impossible to imagine that the series would be renewed for a second season. Long live the king? It appears, not so much.
Image courtesy NBC.
I agree, Marie.
There are so many ways to get ratings now that it’s silly to rely just on Nielson.
DVR’s such as TiVo, PVR’s (DVR software on computers), and digital cable boxes are all capable of reporting what their viewers watch, and of course, web viewings can be tallied easily, too. I think these viewings are actually starting to be taken in to account, but since DVR and web viewings can be delayed for a time, those numbers won’t become relevant until a few days have passed.
I think Kings would be an excellent show since it takes the risk of showing a Biblical like story in a present day environment. I watch most of the pilot and probably will watch the rest online. I would like it if NBC would take the chance and promote it with a little more enthusiasm. Don’t let it die without giving the show a chance.
First episode was really good, I hope it will make it through a first season even if they do just “burn off” the episodes.
@Marie
Fringe is returning April 7 i believe. It was put on hold because it was in American Idol’s timeslot *gag*. Its like the number 2 show in the 18-49 bracket right now, its not gonna get cancelled 🙂
Broadcast TV execs are killing network TV by early cancellations. TNT has primetime drama figured out and they do primetime NBA as well. Go figure. I completely forgot about ‘Kings’ premiere last Sunday night. NBC promo for the show was not very memorable or motivating, but I wanted to watch. Ian McShane is an actor’s actor. He was great in Deadwood. However with broadcast TV limitations it is hard to fathom how Ian will be able to perform with any personality or character. I don’t have TIVO and Sunday night is not a TV night. So will need to check… Read more »
i love this show soo much they cant cancel it! please!!! give it a chance!!!!
I just watched it online too and I love it. I don’t have a tv so I watch stuff online. It’s an awesome show, but I didn’t know about it until the Daily Show showed a clip. I sincerely hope they keep the show.
Exactly David! That’s just the trouble. Now I have a Tivo, so I watch TV on TV, but on my own timetable. But I know TONS of their “target demo” who watch stuff solely online. If the execs do not account for new media, they are only creating more angry people who won’t bother watching new shows cuz they know they’ll get cancelled. Speaking of which, I also watch Dollhouse. And what the heck happened to Fringe? Network execs should hire Dave Axelrod and Dave Plouffe to tell them how to use and read new media. The 1950s are over.… Read more »
Loved what I saw of Kings. Cldn’t find it at first because my cable provider has an awful guide, can’t find anything for minutes at a time while the channels slowly roll by. I will watch it on NBC Sunday to catch up, Forget cancellation, just keep em’ coming
Ian Mcshane is the bomb! But I did not start watching Kings because I start a new show and like it,it gets canceled. Never fails. I Love Dollhouse, I guess Im the only one watching. Eli Stone great show gone. Prison Break gone. BSG gone. I could go on. My thoughts, unless the show is on TNT or USA it will get canceled. The “networks” are only looking for “reality shows” When Dancing with the stars and American Idol are the number one shows or the predictable CBS crap,those of us who like scripted dramas are sol. . I’m about… Read more »
I did not see the premier live. I watched it online and LOVED it. I’m putting the word out to people I know about the show. It’s strange that execs would already be talking about canceling the show when most people haven’t even heard of it yet. I’m hoping viewership increases with additional episodes, but I also hope execs realize that many friends like myself PREFER to watch our shows online. Those numbers may not be accounted for.
Kings was an amazing show. Im not very much of a religious person, but I found that because it was soo different from todays mainstream, it was a nice change.
I would like NBC to reconsider.. I know I watched it 🙂
So many shows that I have enjoyed have been canceled that I’m just not willing to invest any more time in new shows that will more than likely be canceled for whatever reason. If the tv execs want us to wait and watch everything on dvd, I’m all for it — as far as I’m concerned, it’s the tv execs that are killing primetime tv. I’ll see Kings on dvd if it’s good enough to make it that far.
I remember when NBC had patience, and it paid off handsomely: Hill Street Blues and West Wing didn’t grab great numbers to start with – but both became very popular and highly honored. Kings might have developed into something, but it was given a lousy sendoff. Is the director of programming 15 years old?
I watched and enjoyed Crusoe and I enjoyed Kings. It’s a damn shame that the networks still listen only to Nielsen’s when they want ratings. They need to start getting ratings from “new media” sources. I bet the viewership was higher than they thought. I’m glad to hear they’ll air the remaining eps….better than what stupid ABC did to Pushing Daisies and Eli Stone.
I’m sad to say I wasn’t immediately grabbed by this show. However, I will still watch it because Ian McShane is such a talented actor. I just finished watching all of Deadwood and I definitely want to support his work.
Plus, this is a really great concept for a show…maybe it just takes a little time to develop.