Sadly, Lie to Me’s fate is still undecided. The FOX drama was given a full season renewal in November but the network has delayed its return until after the May sweeps period. That’s exactly a show of faith. And now, showrunner Shawn Ryan has jumped ship.
Lie to Me follows Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth), a human lie detector, and his team of experts who help law officials solve their most difficult cases. The cast also includes Kelli Williams, Brendan Hines, Mekhi Phifer, and Monica Raymund.
Last season, Lie to Me had a very healthy series premiere with a 4.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 12.37 million viewers. Those numbers slowly melted away though and, by the end of the season, dipped to a low of a 2.3 in the demo and 7.75 million. Despite the decline, FOX renewed Lie to Me for a second season of 13 episodes. Shawn Ryan (The Shield) was brought in as a new showrunner.
Year two kicked off in September to a 2.9 rating and 7.73 million viewers. Though Lie to Me was losing a significant percentage of the House lead-in, FOX gave the series a full season renewal and added nine episodes. Soonafter, Lie to Me hit a new low with a 2.2 rating and 6.64 million viewers.
FOX put the series on hiatus in December and it already looked destined to be on the bubble for a third season renewal.
It was expected that Lie to Me would return before the end of the 2009-10 season but FOX chose instead to hold original episodes until June 7th. That means they won’t air until after the May sweeps period and until after FOX has announced their 2010-11 schedule.
FOX execs could make their decision based on Lie to Me’s existing ratings data. Or, they could wait until after some more original episodes have aired in the lesser-watched summer months. Neither option is likely to put Lie to Me in a very positive light.
Now, it’s been announced that Ryan, the program’s well-respected showrunner, has decided to leave the show. He’s already committed to a new drama he created for FX called Terriers. It also looks likely that FOX will pick up his other new show, Ride Along.
While none of this means that Lie to Me will necessarily be cancelled, it’s certainly not positive news — especially if FOX execs like what they see in Ride Along. Why stick with a show that’s lost Ryan as a showrunner and has been losing viewers when you can pick up Ryan’s new show that’ll get some attention and might do a lot better. FOX may make a decision about season three at the upfronts next Monday or not for a couple months.
Whether Lie to Me is renewed or cancelled, it seems very likely that viewers will still get to see all 12 of the remaining episodes for this season.
What do you think? Does Lie to Me have a good chance of returning for season three? What would you do — keep it or cancel it and go with something new?
Image courtesy FOX.
To Fox: Please keep this show running. It is one of the greatest shows on TV, I never miss an episode. The character called Cal Lightman is funny, serious, refreshing and bold. He reminds me a lot of a cross between the character Dr. Greg House on ‘House’ and the character Patrick Jane on the ‘Mentalist’. My vote is to continue the show ‘Lie to Me’, I LOVE IT!!!
HOW REFRESHING TO WATCH LIE TO ME. IT’S DIFFERENT AND
UNPREDICTIBLE. I HAD TROUBLE FINDING IT FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
IT WAS ON AND OFF. COULD THIS EFFECT THE RATINGS???
I would like to see the program continue. Most of the time the stories are quite
interesting and it is different from the ordinary programming. Retain.
I hope you don’t cancel Lie to Me. But I agree with Joni that the Cal character’s likability is declining. Also, the audio is often so bad that we have to keep replaying a scene to understand what is being said. Does anyone else have this problem?
DO NOT cancel this show. It is the only show I watch on Fox 4 in Dallas, TX. Fox is crazy. They get a good show and then squash it. What a shame. No wonder this is the only show I watch on Fox.
There were only three programs we always watched. The were “Lie To Me”, “Burn Notice” and “The Mentalist”. With so much other trash on TV we cannot understand how this innovative, provacative program can be cacelled..
I love that show! I love the idea of being able to read people in such a way!
Keep the show!
why do people keep responding to this article written back in May? The show has since been picked up so it WILL NOT BE CANCELED.
DO NOT CANCEL THIS SHOW! My family and particularly myself will be absolutely gutted. Finally, a show that has a great cast [even if Ryan has left] and fantastic concept of honesty within dishonesty. This is a show that you can apply to real life and even use it as a teaching method. The stories for each episode and their arcs are well constructed and provoke so much interest. I’m getting tired of all this brain-draining: good shows get canceled while drippy stuff gets left there for morons in their masses. Remember: FOX CANCELED FAMILY GUY TWICE! And they are… Read more »
I don’t get to watch much television due to work so my children stay at home watch it all the time. It just so happened that one evening I was off and at home and was able to watch a show of “Lie to Me”. I have been hooked ever since!!! Now it is programmed in to my DVR!! I believe that it would be a mistake to cancel this show and I don’t even see how the numbers are slipping. As for the other Ryan character that is supposed to help the show, tell him to kick rocks!! 🙂
chill out.. .it has been renewed.
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/05/12/fox-renews-lie-to-me/
Wont surprise me at all if this show is cancelled, the longer it’s on the worse it gets. It’s because of the actor that plays Cal, he comes across more arrogant on every show. This summer it’s so bad I’m have a hard time watching him at all. I’m a comedienne and likability is everything, this actor seems so full of himeself that he’s lost his likeability.
Tim Roth is Brilliant and the show portrays intelligent alternatives to abuse and torture as a means to extract information (vis a vis the “truth”). There are also subtle yet significant geo-political references that are timely and relevant, such as the Iraqi’s using armed kids as their front line of defense. Roth is also a very physical actor who gets absorbed in the roles he chooses and “Lie to Me” is just catching up with him. Each story has an underlying message that makes “Lie to Me” more than just a formulaic crime show, but a uniquely allegorical, energized and… Read more »
No way you should cancel this show! Everybody I know watches this show! First one without having to have a gay in it and the guy is divorced raising a kid! Crap! Both parties benefit from the P.C. world compromise! Fox is my station and if you let it go I hope it is picked up by USA or TNTHD which is going to eventually kick NBC’s, CBS’s, and hopefully NOT Fox’s blessed ASSurance. You idiots! Who’s buying you out GE!!!
Oh please, do NOT cancel this show. It’s one of only two that are worth setting my schedule around. This is an entertaining, thought provoking series, unlike any other. Please bring Lie To Me back for many more seasons!