Sunday’s premiere of Kings was less than impressive in terms of ratings, especially considering the amount of promotion and money that NBC poured into it. Not even the prospect of seeing Deadwood’s Ian McShane in another series could draw in a big audience.
While things don’t look good for Kings’ future, NBC Entertainment’s co-chair Ben Silverman says he’s encouraged by the interest in the series and has faith that the show can pull through.
He tells the Hollywood Reporter’s James Hibberd, “I’m hoping because intent [to view] went up and awareness went up after it aired, clearly people responded to it, and it grew over its two hours. That gives me some hope. It’s just hard to launch things that are not obvious. We may get nailed for it, but I’m proud of the show, and we need to keep taking chances like that.”
Though his faith in the show is reassuring for the show’s fans, Silverman’s comment about the show’s audience growth over the two hour premiere is a bit misleading.
While the 18-49 demographic had slight increase in the show’s final half hour, the overall size of the audience dropped. Approximately 6.47 million started watching at 8pm and only 5.9 million stuck with it until the end. That’s not growth. Even if it was, the show was still in fourth place overall.
So, will Silverman and the network stick by Kings or abandon it? One thing is certain. The show certainly has an uphill battle for survival.
Image courtesy NBC.
NBC can’t handle a show of this caliber…CLEARLY! It belongs on Showtime or HBO where it would be allowed to grow and be appreciated. FX is another good home for it.
I realize this is just a tv show, and yes life will go on without it on the air, but it upsets me when one of the few shows I look forward to watching gets canceled after one season…
I don’t see how NBC put all this money into promoting it? They stuck in on a saturday night to premiere which is always the worst tv night for any show. Frankly its a show that needs to be watched to be understood why it is so good. 30 sec spots won’t do it when it comes to selling the plot, which is what makes this such a great show. If nothing else there has got to be room in the network somewhere. Maybe on a different channel? Start a new channel…intelligent plot driven shows that rely on more than… Read more »
As so many have said before me, how sad this show has been canceled. I guess it is a wee more cerebral than the general public can handle. With the way the rest of the country is going at the moment, I guess it should not come as any great surprise. I wish this were just a ploy by the NBC execs just to drum up exposure. However, I fear they lack the capacity. The show certainly has the potential to become an all time classic, too bad it was cut off at the knees. The almighty dollar you know……..
NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
i just love this show couldnt find were it came on on TV so i watched all the shows oh hulu in one night
[…] a promising series. Sadly, NBC has announced that it’s only running the 13 episodes that have been produced, as a […]
I love kings. It would be such a shame to see it go. UGhhhh!!!
The incompetence of the American viewing public is mind numbing. Kings is, without question, the best drama on television since the Sopranos. It maintains a rich plot, well developed characters, anticipation from one episode to the next, and phenominal acting on behalf of nearly every main character. The writing is dramatic without being over the top, intelligent without being confusing, and enlightening without being obvious. To cancel this show would make Kings another tragic victim of the American viewing publics otherwise disgraceful lack of taste. Please, for all of your fans with any reasonable appreciation for intelligent and thought provolking… Read more »
Kings has been a breath of fresh air. It’s so different from everything else and I love it! If any NBC executives are reading this, this is one of the only times I turn my television from ABC (Grey’s/Housewives/Ugly Betty). Please realize that this show has a loyal audience, incredible writers and actors, and offers such a nice alternative to the brainless shows viewers are constantly fed.
Sometimes I hate this country, the best shows don’t survive on public networks. The lack of success with shows like Arrested development and Kings reflect poorly on the intelligence of our TV viewers. People need to get over laugh tracks and be able to follow along to a running plot; it doesn’t seem likely.
I love this show! One of the best on TV right now.. Heros is pissing me off.. it seems like there getting no where with that.. Long Live KINGS!!!!!!
What’s the point of investing $2 millon per episode if you’re not going to stick by your product? It takes some viewers longer to discover a program is worth watching. (In case you NBC execs have not figured it out yet, your viewership at-large is not too terribly bright.) Just give the morons a little time and they will discover “Kings’ just like the rest of us.
love this show it rocks, NBC Please dont cancell this show. If you do, you are all a bunch of nubins.
i’m so tired of all the good shows that have been canceled by these big tv corporations. Moonlight (on CBS) canceled after 15 shows, New Amsterdam (on Fox) canceled in less than 12. The list goes on and if Kings disappears before it is given a chance for people to love it, then i might just stop watching NBC, and maybe all of TV forever, if not until these stations get some sense back into their heads that it takes time for people to fall in love with these types of drama’s.
DEFINITELY DIS IS DA HOTTEST SHOW ON TV RIGHT NOW! SO PLEASE DO NOT CANCEL KINGS BECAUSE ALL THESE OTHER REALITY SHOWS OR JUS POOP :)!