Though October Road debuted to strong ratings, ABC plans to cut the freshman drama’s season short and only air two-thirds of the episodes. Why?
The new October Road drama on ABC (no relation to the 2002 James Taylor album) tells the story of a young and famous NYC writer named Nick Garrett (played by Bryan Greenberg). Nick authored an extremely popular book which was essentially a “tell all” novel based on his home of Knights Ridge, Massachusetts. He subsequently gets a bad case of writer’s block and decides its time to return to his hometown after ten years away. As you might guess, his reception isn’t exactly a warm one. In addition to Greenberg, the series features Laura Prepon (That ’70’s Show), Tom Berenger, Warren Christie, Brad William Henke, Evan Jones, Jay Paulson, Slade Pearce, Geoff Stults (7th Heaven) and Odette Yustman.
Following a new episode of Grey’s Anatomy, October Road debuted on March 15, 2007 to great numbers. Despite mixed reviews, Road attracted 13.93 million viewers and came in at #9 for the week. The second episode lost 16% of its previous audience and about a half of lead-in Grey’s Anatomy’s viewers. Still, Road performed much better than Six Degrees or Men in Trees had in the same timeslot. You would think that ABC would be anxious to air the rest of the season’s episodes. You would be incorrect.
Like more and more new shows, October Road’s initial season is a short one, consisting of only six episodes. Rather than run all six of them to keep viewers hooked, ABC plans to air only four of them this season. If the show gets picked up for another year, the remaining two episodes will be broadcast at that time. ABC did the same thing to Grey’s Anatomy its first year.
You can view this stockpiling as either pretty good assurance that Road will return for season two or, that ABC execs don’t have faith in the series. The final decision will have a lot to do with how well episodes three and four perform. If Road’s audience continues to erode, it probably won’t be back. We’ll likely know by mid-May what ABC decides to do. Stay tuned! 
I usually have a hard time getting into new shows,because when I find one I like it gets canceled after a few shows.I love October Road and hope it stays on the air…And can someone tell me why ABC is considering getting rid of October Road but think it’s a good idea to air a show called CAVEMEN after the geico commercials..How much do those execs get paid?
Please, please do not cancel october road…..they have already cancelled what about brian and i love both of these shows…..abc is going to loose a lot of fans if they keep cancelling the shows they people like!!!!!!!
Please don’t cancel October road. It has made me believe that there is still good tv out there.
It’s been a while that we have had a good sitcom.
I absolutely LOVE October Road I really hope they do not take it off the air. It is hard to find good shows on tv now and that one I think is one that will get more popular as it goes!!!
I loved October road. It really connects with the 20-30 year old population. It was the one show my finace and I could both agree on. Please bring it back.
I was looking forward to enjoying the reast of the series!!! It was great!!! Look forward to seeing it!!! Please keep it one the air!!!A lot better than Men in Trees!!
I LOVE OCTOBER ROAD. PLEASE BRING IN BACK. IT IS ONE OF THE BEST PROGRAMS YOU HAVE ON. IF YOU WANT TO TAKE OFF SOMETHING REALLY STUPID, START WITH “UGLY BETTY” OR “MEN IN TREES”. EVERYTHING ABOUT OCTOBER ROAD IS AWESOME. I LOVE THE CAST, ESPECIALLY NICK. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE BRING IT BACK FOR A FULL SEASON…
I stoped watching ER on NBC to watch this show. And I have watched ER from the start. I would love to see it stay on the air.
Please bring October Road back. There were way too few episodes and you’ve got tons of people hooked. I’m sure the fan base will grow if you give it some fair air time.
October Road is fantastic. Finally a show with substance that reaches a wide age range. Bring it back, and by all means more episodes – Please!
omgggg love thhis show and many others i talk too… we chat after each episode.. plzzzzzz keep it on the air. give it a chance i beleive it will do as good as grey’s but need more weekly episodes for peeps to get involved..
October Road is great! I haven’t watched anything on ABC in years. It’s been along time since ABC had something this good to watch. Finally something other than reality TV. This is a show that can keep a solid audience for years to come. Don’t make the mistake of cancelling.
I have to agree with the comments about not airing a show long enough. When you see a show that has some substance to it you look forward it. With all the brainless fluff there is on TV these days, a breath of fresh air is appreciated. Networks loose my rating when they pull a GOOD show and air “junk”.
Whatever formula they used to calculate October Roads standing, in such a short period, need to be re-accessed.
I hope they bring it back.
WHAT IS WRONG W/ TV STATION YR ALL DUMMMMM, U GET US ADDICTED TO SHOW AND KEEP TAKING THEM AWAY..THERE SO MUCH CRAPP ON T.V. AND U TAKE OFF THE GOOD STUFF. THE BACHOLER ECT. CRAPPPP..WHO CARES ANYMORE SHOWS LIKE THIS GIVE US SOMETHING TO LOOK FOR EVERYWEEK..
PLEASE DONT CANCEL THIS SHOW ITS A GOOD CLEAN CUT SHOW NOW TAKE OFF STUPID UGLY BETTY BEFORE OCTOBER ROAD