Last week, after the poor debut of FOX’s Lone Star, TV show creator Kyle Killen asked people to give the series a chance and hoped for a “stunning upset” in the ratings.
Sadly, that didn’t happen and the ratings for episode two dropped even lower. It was no surprise when FOX pulled Lone Star from the schedule and cancelled production.
Killen has had some time to reflect on the events of the past couple weeks and has written another post about Lone Star. He expresses gratitude for the chance to make the show and to the many viewers for their support. He also talks about the possibility of Lone Star moving to another channel but understands the chances are remote at best.
Here are some excerpts. You can read the whole post here.
So here’s the thing. We made a good show. Not Shakespeare. Not MASH. But something I was proud of. I can’t really speak to anyone else’s reaction, I can only be honest about my own. We assembled a staff, a cast, and a crew that I think was committed to telling interesting and thought provoking stories and who were excited about where we’d planned to head. And now it’s over. The part of me that feels awful that these people are now out of work wishes they’d done anything other than join this show. The part of me that’s so excited about what we did can’t thank them enough for signing on and making it happen.
As for the show’s future, if you read the news you know what I know. We’re actively looking at other homes for it, but those situations are rare. Imagine trying to just jam the engine from a Toyota in a Chevy and you get some idea how hard it is to take a show from one network to another. These things are custom jobs and what looks simple on the surface requires an incredible amount of engineering underneath. Whether we’ll pull something like that off is anyone’s guess. But we’re certainly trying.
Lastly, I literally don’t have the words to thank those of you who participated here and on twitter and facebook and, you know, the real world, in supporting the show. I’ve been in the habit of writing incredibly inane things in this space for some time and have to say that I was blindsided by the scale of the reaction to my last post. Of all the incredible and unexpected things to come out of this entire process, those last few days were perhaps the most incredible and certainly the least expected. I feel like we tried to get a write in candidate elected president together, and while we were completely and utterly destroyed when the votes were tallied, I’ve never felt such an odd and full connection to a group of people I’ve never met and likely never will. Given all that, ‘Thank you’ seems woefully insufficient to convey my gratitude. Perhaps I can just mow all your lawns for the hell of it.
What do you think? Do you agree with Killen? If you had your way, which channel would pick it up?
Image courtesy FOX.
I don’t watch FOX anymore, this was the only reason I watched it.
Loved it. Sad to see it go.
I loved this show!!! Count me in if a grassroots campaign begins to get this show reinstatede. Longstar fans unite!!!!
Good show, had potential and a stellar cast…Fox will no longer be anywhere on my radar. They premiered the show wrong time…1 week to early or late. It was not properly promoted either. Just my opinion. I hope Fx or A & E considers picking it up….HBO Showtime would be great as well. Fox can kiss my veiwer-ship on any of their programs bye-bye. You really have to show some amount of commitment and allow a show to take hold via word of mouth etc.
I loved the show! I also loved Flash Forward and just found out that will be dropped as well. I hate to say this but …it really makes you not what to get invested in a new show. Because by the time you find out you really like it and spend time watching it …it will soon be over!
i wasd hooked on lone star from the very first episode. i’ve been in mourning ever since prison break ended and i was like finally a show that kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat just like prison break did. whomever needs to reconsider, please do so. my dvr was set to record it and then all of a sudden it said zero episodes set to record. i was like what happened. it could have at least run a complete season. i want lone star back. get us all hooked and then nothing. that gives a whole… Read more »
Perhaps the reason it was not well received is that there are many many people out there right now in the gas and oil industry who have been conned in their real lives and dont wish to be “entertained” by the very thing that has caused them heartache and financial ruin?
Sad but not surprising. I’m becoming accustomed to finding interesting, well written shows (Kings, Life, Wonderfalls, Jericho….) and then mourning them far too soon. The dreck lives on. Perhaps we’ll see the remaining episodes on DVD.
A tragedy…shows with any depth definitely need to be on cable channel..could see this thriving on TNT….broadcast network audiences evidently do not have the patience or attention span to follow a quality show. A tremendous cast! All involved should hold their heads high, you turned out a first rate show.
Good show starting on a tough night! Too much competition from other networks. Maybe too much like a soapbox opera? Too bad, we enjoyed the plot and characters. Maybe another night? Maybe a week night during the summer season? It should not be dropped.
What a JOKE! With all the reality shows flooding the tv networks, someone has to go and cancel a better than average show. Too bad. Why? Was it the Sunday night spot that killed it? This show may have been a better fit for a week night spot with it soapbox opera feel. We enjoyed this show. The characters were believable and probably had future stories to tell. We hope another network picks this show up, at least to fill the summer week night season.
I was checking the DVR to see if they had moved Lonestar to a new channel and it wasnt there. I am so upset! It was my favorite new show! I actually am usually a reality show only watcher but for some reason this show captivated me. I hope it ends up on another channel because I want to see how everything unfolds!
I thought this could have been the next Mad Men as the story developed. I was upset when I head it was cancelled. Two episodes is NOT enough to know how a show like this is going to do.
I was just shocked to find this series had been cancelled! I loved the cast and story line and looked forward to enjoying this weekly. I agree……who made this hasty decision? I told everyone about it. There were many new openers that first week and I think some just missed this one, but would have settled in as it surely had merit and appeal.
I saw the new “Lonestar” show for the first time tonight, and I really enjoyed it. It was captivating. This is a great show … very entertaining, well written, and with such talented actors. I had NO IDEA it had already been cancelled. Who the heck made THAT decision!! Because it was so good, I went to the web to learn more about it. What a shock to see that it has already been cancelled. What’s up with that!! Again, I ask: WHO made that decision!! How is it that a quality show like “Lonestar” gets cancelled after only two… Read more »