Off the Map: New ABC Drama; Cancel or Keep It?

ABC recently unveiled a new medical drama, Off the Map, which was created by Jenna Bans and is co-executive produced by Bans, Betsy Beers, and Shondra Rimes. All three ladies have been closely involved with Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. Will Off the Map be as successful as these other medical dramas or be cancelled after one season?

Off the Map follows six doctors who move to a tiny town in the South American jungle to help the residents and man an understaffed and under-stocked medical clinic. The cast includes Caroline Dhavernas, Jason George, Jonathan Castellanos, Mamie Gummer, Martin Henderson, Rachelle Lefevre, Valerie Cruz, and Zach Gilford.

This new TV show debuted on January 12th to a 2.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic (the number that really matters) and 7.57 million total viewers. That was the night of the President’s speech in Tucson which caused some disjointed viewing in some areas. ABC decided to rerun the series premiere on the following night to give it more exposure, displacing Private Practice.

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Despite that extra coverage, Off the Map dropped by nearly 9% in the key demo in week two. That’s not bad percentage-wise but the debut number was pretty low to begin with. The series attracted a 2.1 rating in the demo and 5.79 million viewers. Last night’s episode dropped 14% to a 1.8 rating and 5.06 million viewers.

After just three weeks, Off the Map is near the bottom of ABC’s demo rankings of scripted series, tying struggling No Ordinary Family. That’s not good at all and since Off the Map’s ratings haven’t stabilized yet, they may keep falling.

In the past, the alphabet network has renewed one or two struggling freshman series for a second season. Unless the ratings start going up, that looks like Off the Map’s only hope for survival. There are 13 episodes in season one and, for now, the finale is scheduled for April 6th. Time will tell if that ends up being the season or series finale.

But, what do you think? Do you like Off the Map? Should it continue or would you just cancel it now?