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 loved the show Mercy and hope to see that there will be a second season! I would hate to not know what happens after that enthralling season finale!! Did Chris get on that plane? How about Chloe and Dr. Joe Briggs? What happened to Mike and can Veronica cope with more disaster? I’d love to know what happens and to consider the viewers that fell for the characters.
I love Mercy and I hope to find out what happens to all of the characters. Please don’t cancel it. Change the time slot, that might be the problem with the ratings.
I would love to see Mercy stay. Give it another season!
I Like many on here watch the show online. My schedule like many others doesn’t allow me to be home to catch the show. I think NBC needs to consider all the online viewers before making this call. Also if the show was canceled why would they leave it the way they did. It really left me wanting to see what was next?
Honestly I feel that Mercy is a good show that has done a good job on emphasizing the character building to bond with viewers. Just after watching some episode of Mercy I could already care about the characters. Pity it won’t continue…
I love Mercy and almost along with everyone else who have a busy life cant always watch it on TV So I watch it on the websight. It Kills me everytime this show takes 3 weeks off (maybe thats why veiw rating are going down) People dont want to watch a show for 2 weeks in a row then have to wait 3 weeks to find out what happens next . Maybe if NBC kept this show going and stop with the vactions veiwers would still be around to watch it week after week. I say Make a 2ed season… Read more »
We love Mercy! We don’t always watch it when it’s running but the DVR is always recording it. Sometimes I watch 3 weeks at once and wish there was more! Give it at least one more season! PLEASE!!
I hope you are counting all the people who watch Mercy online. It is a great show. You just can’t leave 5 million people hanging and not knowing if Dr. Sands is okay or if Mike is okay. I already miss the show, now that the season is over and thought well at least when the summer is over, I have Mercy to look forward too, and then again, maybe not ;(
Since TV converted from analog to digital i have watched all shows via HULU. They should figure a way to include online viewing in their ratings. I really was into Mercy it was one of the few new shows i like. it’s a shame they can’t at least tie up what happens and not leave everything hanging.
I think Mercy is a great show. It really needs to have a second season, it ended so abruptly not knowing if Dr. Sands is okay or what happened… Mercy is really a great show – the characters seem real to life compared to other shows on Prime time.
I think Mercy is a wonderful show. All my friends and family love it! I think you should of given it a second chance. Everyone is going to miss this A+ show.
I really liked mercy i dont see why they cancell it when it was just starting to get good. i hate when people do that.
why did you have to cancell mercy , it was the only thing i watched on nbc . next you’ll be cancelling nbc it self becouse you cant keep the good shows on or the once that the people really like
I, like so many other busy people, watch Mercy online, when it’s convenient for me. Are we counted in the percentage of viewers? Please take this into account as you decide to nit cancel the show. I feel I know these characters and will miss them if the show goes off air!!
I would be so upset to see this show good. Its finally beginning to build momentum and I’m in love with Dr.Sands and really want to watch the Second season play out. So sad I’ll be disappointed to see it go I watch every week and tvo the ones I miss. I even got my sisters hooked.