Tonight, Numb3rs finishes off its sixth season with episode 118, “Cause and Effect.” Will the show be back next season? A decision hasn’t been made yet but lots of people are betting that it will be cancelled.
Numb3rs follows FBI Agent Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) and his genius brother, Charlie (David Krumholtz), who helps the authorities solve cases with mathematics. The cast also features Judd Hirsch (as their father), Alimi Ballard, Dylan Bruno, Navi Rawat, Aya Sumika, and Peter MacNicol.
The series debuted in January 2005 and has long been a successful player for CBS on Friday nights. In season one, Numb3rs averaged a 3.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic and about 11.1 million viewers. They went up in season two, with an average of a 3.3 rating and 11.7 million viewers. Viewership has fallen since then however and last season, Numb3rs scored a 2.2 and 10.2 million.
This season, Numb3rs’ ratings have dropped further still — averaging a 1.8 rating and 8.26 million viewers each week. As a result of the decline in ratings, CBS (which is having a very good season) decided to cut back on the number of episodes and reduced their season order from 22 to 16 installments.
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The official reason for the decrease is that CBS had too much programming and needed space to try out new series. Next week, Numb3rs’ timeslot will be occupied by a new show, Miami Medical.
CBS has maintained that the fate of Numb3rs hasn’t been decided yet but, considering the series’ production costs and ratings, it seems fairly certain that the show is done.
In fact, ABC and FOX are betting on it. The networks have already cast Morrow and Krumholtz in new pilots.
Morrow will star in a dramatic pilot called The Whole Truth for ABC, opposite Joely Richardson. He’ll play a fiercely competitive and successful defense attorney who is close friends with his equally talented courtroom adversary (Richardson). Whole Truth is being produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
Meanwhile, Krumholtz has been cast in a comedy pilot for FOX called Tax Man. The project’s being produced by Ron Howard and stars Krumholtz as an IRS Agent who’s trying to find nobility in his work. Judy Greer recently joined the cast.
If CBS does decide to bring Numb3rs back for another season, both Morrow and Krumholtz will be obligated to return. However, the other networks wouldn’t cast them in new pilots unless they felt it was a very strong possibility that Numb3rs would indeed be cancelled.
What do you think? Would you like to see Numb3rs return for a seventh season or is it time to say goodbye to the Eppes?
Image courtesy CBS.
TV is a business where ratings can mean money….But money isn’t everything. As the parents of 11 children, we appreciate that the future of our country is not just in money, but in the hearts and minds of our young. Numbers has made the real concepts of the Math and Science that our Nation needs to suceed in the 21st Century…”Cool” . The expertise of Wolfram and others who provide the real world Math to support the show go a long way to normalizing how young and old can see math as an important tool in the growth of our… Read more »
I hope CBS does not cancel Numb3rs it is a great show it make you think and pay attention. Cast is GREAT!! Hope CBS does not make a mistake…..
Please keep Numb3rs going. It is one of the few intelligent well acted shows currently on TV. The cast is superbly mixed and play well off of each other. I am tired of good shows like Numb3rs being cancelled and replaced by inane comedies and reality shows that truly are not real in the real world.
Do not cancel the show. Perhaps move it to 9:00PM for a better time slot. The show is unique and offers emotion.
I think it’s time for the show to go away. In the beginning the show was unique with an unusual concept but lately too much attention has been focused on the Judd Hirsch character. To make matters worse the Peter MacNicol character has become a drag with his constant whining about the meaning of everything. This was originaly a good crime/math show now it is a subpar Desperate Housewives.
Last night’s episode certainly looked like the last in the series. They’d have to bring everyone back from their new jobs – including Mr. Numbers and his new wife having to go back to the U.S. from England.
I agree it has been a wonderful series. One of the few truly thought-provoking shows on network TV (aside from two of the CSIs).
Stopped watching FRIDAY night CBS in 2008. One of the viewers CBS lost!
7pm GhostWhisper
8pm Moonlight
9pm Numbers
To sad, all 3 shows were great! Oh well….
Great show. Please keep!
I had a feeling it was bye-bye last night, too. There were too many “final” decisions being made. I hate it when CBS has 7 years to tell a story and uses the series last 60 minutes to wrap it all up in a neat ball – like King of Queens, another disastrous finale. You know what else really bothered me last night? CBS was too cheap to spring for a NICE wedding for Charlie Epps; why? They could have had a double-ring ceremony with his brother or something, but no, CBS did it on the cheap. I don’t know… Read more »
I watch it and enjoy it — even though I sometimes I wonder ummmm how did they solve things before Charlie 😉 What bugs me though is last nights episode was billed as a season finale and not a series finale. If the series is over tell us the truth don’t call it a season finale if it’s not coming back that just gives people false hope. As for more reality — I have stopped watching things like amazing race and survivor because it’s the same over and over and over. Bored with it now. Not sure we need another… Read more »
we finally have a super good show that deals with a persons ability to use our heads to think about things higher than the crotch of our pants. no sex involved to speak of, just good mind expanding stuff. now the bottom feeders of the network want to cancel it. PLEASE don’t let this happen.
Hi,
I absolutely love this show. I watch reruns. The chemistry is just too great for you to cancel. Next season offers an international flair with Charlie in the UK and Don in LA.
This is one of the best ensemble casts that I have ever seen.
DON’T CANCEL!!!!!
I for one would be very happy to continue watching Numb3rs. It is a special show that continues to communicate the message that the sciences and the humanities are naturally united in those individuals that whole heartedly embrace what it is to be human.
Great show. It would be extremely sad to see Numb3rs end. I love the show for the fact it’s different from all the other “crime” type TV shows currently on. The mathematical view is always interesting and always keeps my attention, even though I personally am horrible at math. Friday night TV pretty much sucks anyways, but I know I can always at least look forward to watching Numb3rs.
I hope that we can keep the guys around for at least one more season.
Please keep it on! It’s intelligent, relevant, important and entertaining. The cast is wonderful as is the balance of drama and humor.