Under the reign of Ben Silverman, NBC spent a whole lot of money on Kings — about $4 million an episode. Unfortunately for the peacock network, most viewers weren’t interested and the network lost a lot of money.
After three weeks of low ratings, they shuffled the series off to die on Saturday evenings, when viewership is typically lower anyway. While many devoted fans tuned in each week to watch actors like Ian McShane, Christopher Egan, Allison Miller, Susanna Thompson, Sebastian Stan, Eamonn Walker, and Dylan Baker, the numbers weren’t enough for the show to go back into production.
Not only won’t Kings be returning for a second season but NBC isn’t planning on taking that kind of ambitious risk again. The network’s President of Primetime Entertainment, Angela Bromstad, said this week, “It was a great production, but our challenge now is, you need to sell something. People want to know what something is about.”
Bromstad continued, “Kings was a complex idea. It was originally developed when I was [at NBC] before. We didn’t make it [then] because we thought it was a little too high brow and too difficult to sell in a 30 second slot. It doesn’t mean we’re not looking for big ideas [but] they have to be big ideas that the audience can grab on to.”
What do you think? Was the concept too much for the audience to grasp or did it fail for another reason? Too good for network TV?
Image courtesy NBC.
Kings was the best new show I have seen on network TV and should be brought back to have a proper ending. Make a second season of 13 episodes to finish out the story. I am sick of doctors, cops, and lawyers being the only thing on TV. Bring back Kings NBC.
Dear Executives,
Regardless of motive – we want KINGS back. Give us actors like Ian and
writers like those whom wrote the episodes and you can sell your commercial
spots for more money. Many of us are moving our viewing to LinkTV, Discovery, History and National Geographic. Please do not talk down to your audience.
The failed organizational decision here was to invest in Production and then pull the plug on “Promotion.”
Very saddend with your decision to dump Kings. This Is and was a great show.
whenever. the network has something good .it always ends up being axed . Kings is the Best show I’ve watch in a long time great quality. …Tired of watching stupid reality TV .people have enough of there own reality .
Michael Green’s farewell message, which I referred to, is under the “Court Historian” link on the “Kings” web page. Hey, NBC: Why NOT keep the “Kings” web site? Maintaining it must cost next to nothing. CBS still has the web page for “Threshold” YEARS after it was canceled. The video links are disabled, but that would be expected so they wouldn’t compete with DVD sales (and you WILL learn how badly you blew it when the “Kings” DVDs hit the market). Hmmm… “Kings”, “Threshold”, “Pushing Daisies”… I really know how to pick the ones that are too good to succeed!… Read more »
I read that the original plan was to drop this into the time slot of “ER” and that this changed when “ER” was extended by three episodes. My guess is that they never reconfigured the introductory promotion for “Kings” to allow for the lack of access to the “ER” audience. See Michael Green’s comments on the “Kings” web site. The show is completely, irrevocably gone. Pleas for its return are useless. If somebody knows how to plead with NBC to leave the program’s web site up for our amusement, do that. I don’t know that there is enough of a… Read more »
P.S. I was looking forward to seeing how they were going to tie in what looked like the “ark” in the train car when David found the stolen charter….. anyone know what the writers plans were???
Such a shame that such a quality, thought provoking show is being dumped. Too bad our TV is becoming the land of stupid sitcoms and reality garbage…. Thank goodness my family ( kids and all) like to read, we’ll have to get our quality there.
I’ve told so many about the show and most have NEVER EVEN HEARD OF KINGS…until i watched a few episodes on tivo then allowing them to see online.
MARKETING IS KEY
Saddened by your decision and understanding from a business point, however this WAS & STILL IS one of the BEST SHOWS ON TV in A LONG LONG TIME. not only does it encompass value, morals and complexities in family it allows a realistic understandings of these trials to be seen from different aspects of life…ISN’T THAT WHAT YOU ARE TYRING TO SELL in this new millennium, REAL ACTUAL TRUE TV with honest logistics and central marketing??
This is the best show I have seen in a long time. I was upset when ER ended and I thought that I was done with NBC since that was one of the only shows I actually watched but then Kings came along and I watched it through out the season and was really looking forward to a second. Come on NBC people will watch it you just have to do better marketing or sell it to another station that will give audiances what they want which is actual tv not reality we live in it every day tv is… Read more »
Don’t know how HBO can get away with putting on excellent, ‘high brow’ shows, and network TV can’t. We just watched all 12 episodes on the internet because we just found out how good a show it was. It was FANTASTIC…and the online episodes end Sept. 20 for some odd reason. This was one of the BEST shows on TV…maybe ever. Only have raves for the actors, the set, the story, the writing. Is it a wonder that TV is languishing with decisions to cancel good shows?
I also did not find out about this show until it was already canceled. It is the first show I’ve found myself excited about in such a long time. What a shame to not get to see Season 2. Is there really no chance? What is the magic number of comments/emails needed to get execs to reconsider this hasty decision? What else can be done at the grass roots level to save this show?
As a markerter, I understand why NBC cancelled the show. No viewership = no advertisers = no show. As a viewer, however, I love this show. It’s well written, the art direction is beautiful and the acting is fantastic. I feel that NBC failed in marketing the show appropriately and did not do it’s part to emotionally connect it’s show to it’s audience. For spending $4million per show, NBC should have put some of that cash into a more creative promotion instead of putting in the standard marketing formula.
After only 3 episodes, NBC dumped the show into a weekend slot where it KNEW no shows do well?? That’s intentionally putting it where it would fail. Three episodes isn’t enough time for many drama shows to gain a following, particularly if they aren’t promoted well. I, for one, didn’t even know about the show until it was in summer reruns — THAT’S how badly marketed this show was. Then again, I spend much of my viewing time with PBS and cable networks like HBO, TNT, SciFi channel, TCM, AMC, History Channel and USA (**NOT** the fake wrestling, thank you!!!)… Read more »
To the other writers, I totally agree with you on that very good show and loved it my husband feels just like you and is upset was waiting for the season II and I just learned there was none, but hopefully we see something like this soon!