Though NBC kept touting that the revival of Knight Rider was a success, the ratings have told a different story. Just about everyone in the industry was shocked when the network gave the Justin Bruening series an order for the back nine episodes. Now, to little surprise, NBC is pulling the plug.
Knight Rider debuted on September 24th, as a follow-up to the TV movie that aired last February. The new TV show takes place 25 years after the original exploits of Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff) and his high-tech, four-wheeled partner KITT (voiced by William Daniels). Mike Traceur (Bruening) is the son of Knight and the driver of the newest KITT (voiced by Val Kilmer). The car was built by Charles Graiman (Bruce Davison), the father of Mike’s former girlfriend, Sarah (Deanna Russo). As in the original series, Mike and KITT work together to thwart evil and save the innocent. The rest of the cast includes Paul Campbell, Yancey Arias, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, and Smith Cho.
A few revivals of Rider have been attempted over the years but none have been a success. The newest version is, unfortunately, no exception. The premiere episode debuted to just 7.35 million viewers and a 2.5/7 rating/share in the 18-49 demographic. The audience for Rider’s second episode grew to 7.77 million while the demo remained essentially flat at 2.4/7. The following three episodes averaged about 7.2 million but the demo began slowly dropping with each new installment.
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Likely due to the state of the rest of NBC’s sagging schedule, the network decided to stick with Rider and gave the series a greenlight for nine more episodes. This would bring the order to a full 22 installments for the season. Soonafter, the ratings took a serious hit in the November sweeps period.
After a week off, Rider’s audience sank to just 5.12 million and a terrible 1.6/4 in the demographic. The ratings weren’t much better for the rest of the month.
A few days after the first November ratings dip, showrunner Gary Scott Thompson announced that the show was going through a retooling. He told The Hollywood Reporter, “We’re moving away from the terrorist-of-the-week formula and closer to the original, making it a show about a man and his car going out and helping more regular people, everymen.”
As a part of this effort, three castmembers were let go — Poitier, Arias and Davison. Thompson maintained that this move had nothing to do with their performances. The decision likely had more to do with an effort to cut costs and make the bottom line more attractive to the network.
It seems the network hasn’t been sufficiently impressed by what they’ve seen and execs have cut the episode order back to 17 installments. The cast and crew are currently working on their 17th episode, written and directed by Thompson. They’re expected to wrap some time next week.
That episode, now the Rider season finale, is scheduled to air on February 25, 2009. The five remaining scripts will be utilized on the off chance that the series is renewed for a second season. Unless the ratings seriously improve, there’s no way that that will happen. Not even Mike and KITT will be able to save the day. Stay tuned! 
Image courtesy NBC.
Hello everyone,
Since I was very young I got used to watch science-fiction movies and TV shows, I remember watch alongside with my grand-father, somewhere in the late 1970’s the, Star trek and Battlestar Galactica, and afterwords going to bed amazed by it. Now as grown man, these TV shows, though full of flaws, are a sheer opportunity to go back to a nostalgic past, where our vivid imagination and curiousity was still unstained.
Hopefully the Knight Rider show will go on…
Best regards from Portugal!
this is not cool
they did not even gave the show a chance
When a new show comes out u have to give it a couple years to build a fan base. when you bring a new show out and then jerk it off the air it makse the Network look wishwashy. Give Knight Rider a chance and have it a good time at night and maybe have David Hasslehoff promote it more.
Please give the show another chance. There is not much else out there right now & the family can still watch.
Thank you
I think they should DEFINITELY revive the show for another season. I can’t understand why 6.12 million people is enough to keep a show going.
I grew up watching the old knight rider…I loved it…now I am grown and watch the new series with my husband and son. It is a shame that they cancelled the show…but we all know it has to be all about that money…come on NBC suck it up give it one more chance!
Night Rider is ok and worth another series, but just like the amazing Jericho will be canned because not enough people are watching it.
C’mon guys .The show really rocks .You need to just wait till it catches up .Tell ya .You are not really targeting the right segment at the roght time to improve that ratings .Pls runs your promos specially to the Asian audience believe me i know what they eat .just think I am a pro in that.I do agree with all those fans and unlike this article i bilive that the car looks smarted Mike looks better and the gals are hotter than before .Just roll her weels out baby
kinda figures they would cancel it….. i loved that show. i wa fraki awesome.
IF NBC DONT WANT TO SHOW KNIGHT RIDER .THEN I THING NBC SHOULD SELL IT TO ANOTHER TV STATION LIKE SYFY …NBC THIS IS TO YOU IF IT WAS’NT FOR THE PEOPLE YOU GUYS WOULD BE LOOKING FOR ANOTHER JOB…SUCK IT UP ….NBC….GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT….PUT KNIGHT RIDER BACK ON THE AIR..
We are in the middleof the season at the moment and I am gutted that they are not making another season. I like the revamp they have done and the fact that K.I.T.T. is getting a good sence of humour at last. Come on NBC get your act together and go for the 2nd season.
i thibk yhe series is awesome, cant believe that it was caneclled 🙁 yeah so they had a few wanna be terrorists at the start but this is the revamp of corse there will be some pscyco’s tryin to take the world over…the new k.i.t.t is brill val kilmewr does a great job as the voice of k.i.t.t..its a shame there will be kno more as i would have def watched more of this show.
After the revamping the show is just as good as the orginal! I want to see more!
the people saying knight rider is rubbish need to get a life. if you don’t like it then don’t watch it, don’t spoil it for the rest of us. who like me think it’s the best thing on t.v since the old series finished.
yo **** the people who hate knight rider that show is awsome
let only the fans who love it get season two and for the people who hate it **** you