In July, production on NBC’s Parenthood was delayed due to Maura Tierney becoming ill. She eventually had to drop out of the project and Lauren Graham stepped in.
Because of the backstage issues, NBC delayed Parenthood’s Fall premiere and replaced it with a series that was scheduled for midseason, Mercy. Some wondered if having two new medical series might cause one to suffer. It turns out, Mercy and Trauma are both in critical condition.
Mercy follows the lives of three very different nurses at Mercy Hospital in Jersey City. The cast includes Taylor Schilling, Jaime Lee Kirchner, Michelle Trachtenberg, James Tupper, Diego Klattenhoff, Guillermo Diaz, James LeGros, James Van Der Beek, and Delroy Lindo.
The series got off to a mediocre start on September 23, 2009. The premiere attracted a 2.3 rating in the all-important 18-49 demographic and 8.25 million total viewers. That put the debut in fourth place for the demo and in second place for total viewers.
The second episode fell to a 2.1 rating and 7.35 million. The third installment dropped again to a 1.8 rating in the demo and 7.29 million viewers. Not good.
Though the show’s ratings could hardly be called strong, NBC gave Mercy a full season order in October. The rest of the network’s schedule was performing poorly and the order likely had most to do with the fact that NBC just needed original programming. It didn’t hurt that the series is a co-production of NBC’s corporate sister, Universal Media Studios.
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Meanwhile, Trauma struggled from the very beginning and NBC pulled the plug after 13 episodes. But then, based on the need for more programming, the network ordered seven more installments. That show returns on March 8th but is a big longshot for renewal.
While Mercy was initially the better performer, the show’s ratings have now reached Trauma-like levels. The most recent episode of Mercy hit a series low with a dismal 1.4 rating in the demo and just 5.86 million viewers.
NBC’s Primetime Entertainment President Angela Bromstad recently said that she still loves the drama creatively, but she also noted that the show’s ratings need to rise for it to survive. She made that statement before Mercy fell to its most recent low.
The network has commissioned 18 pilots for the 2010-11 season and Bromstad has acknowledged that they’ll have to essentially rebuild their schedule from scratch.
With the ratings as poor as they are, it’s highly likely that Mercy will be cancelled and won’t survive to see a second year.
What do you think? Would you be sorry to see Mercy cancelled? Is it worth watching? Is there a reason that more viewers aren’t tuning in?
Image courtesy NBC.
I absolutely love Mercy and think it’s one of the best shows out there…..it would be a mistake to cancel the second season….
I really like it, and hope it doesn’t get cancelled. My husband watches it with me. We look forward to it. Much better Than Grey’s Anatomy these days…
We would love to see Mercy stay… its a great show with a great story line and we enjoy it very much…. it brings real life situations to light and is really an awesome show!
Mercy is a fantastic show, it should come back for sure for the next season, great quality, creative, great acting!!
I agree with above , you don’t give a lot of these shows a chance, I love Mercy and Trauma. Why are you so quick to cancel? I feel all that is one is reality and sitcoms..give us grownups a chance,,, save Mercy and Trauma
I am a fan of MERCY. There was a point where I was getting frustrated with the writing, though….too many missed opportunities for love! I know it’s a drama, but does everyone’s love life have to be in turmoil? Throw the audience a bone now and then! Things did finally progress with nurse and doctor eventually getting together and I have really looked forward to tuning in every Wed. night. Please give them a chance! I have been frustrated over the past few years from getting involved with a new show, then all of the sudden it’s not there at… Read more »
We, too, will miss these shows. We don’t watch a lot of television, but enjoyed these these shows. Hoping the network will reconsider their decision. I’m tired of the re-runs of the other shows!
I love Mercy and would be upset if they cancelled this show. I watched every episode of Mercy and cant even believe it might be cancelled. this is one of very few shows that I watch on tv.
i think people are disgusted with NBC. They don’t even bother to turn on NBC. Every time they have a show worth watching it’s cancelled. Who does the scheduling? Don’t cancel Mercy!
I am sorry to hear that this show will not have a second season. In my opinion, this is one of the best new shows on television. I never missed an episode. Sometimes I wonder how they are counting viewers.
Mercy is the only show on television that I will not miss. I hope it is continued.
Mercy is one of the few programs that my husband and I both watch and like, we will be saddened to see it go. We would love to see more of this show! There are not many sitcoms/dramas on television anymore, it seems like almost everyone has went to reality tv…it is nice to have the option of these types of programs rather than flipping from channel to channel only to find the reality stuff.
This is why NBC is having problems. They don’t recognize quality shows when they have them. Shows like Trauma and Mercy get cancelled before they get a chance to build a fan base.
Like many others on this post, this is one show me and my husband watch together, without one of us wanting to flip around channel to channel. We would love to see a second season.
Both Mercy and trauma are quality shows and deserve to be renewed for a second season.