Hopping on the Mad Men bandwagon, ABC recently began airing Pan Am on Sunday nights. The network’s been searching for some new hot dramas to replace Desperate Housewives and their aging medical series. Have they found the solution in a show named after a defunct airline or will this one just crash and be cancelled?
Pan Am follows the pilots and flight attendants that work for the world-famous airline in 1963. Dean (Mike Vogel) is a young pilot who’s just been promoted to captain. His co-pilot, Ted (Michael Mosely), is hiding a secret. Stewardess Maggie (Christina Ricci) isn’t afraid to push the limits, Colette (Karine Vanesse) flirts too much, and Kate (Kelli Garner) has taken on a dangerous side-job after helping her sister, Lara (Margot Robbie), become a runaway bride. While traveling the world, the flight crew have interesting brushes with history.
The series debuted on September 25th to a 3.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 11.06 million viewers. Those aren’t bad numbers but they’re hardly impressive either. Pan Am was second in the timeslot, behind NBC’s football coverage. Looking at the breakdown for the show’s ratings in quarter hour increments, about 10% of the demo audience tuned out before the episode was finished. That’s not terrible but certainly not positive either.
The second episode dropped 16% in the demo to a 2.6 rating with 7.76 million viewers. That’s a pretty normal second week drop-off but Pan Am really didn’t have many viewers to spare. Week three is where things really got bad.
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The third episode saw the demo drop by an astounding 27%. Did the people who tuned in for the second episode decide that they’d seen enough or, was the third week just a fluke?
Apparently it was the latter because the ratings dropped by another 5%, to a 1.8 in the demo with 5.84 million. Last night’s numbers held steady according the fast affiliate numbers. That’s positive but a 1.8 demo rating is certainly not.
Pan Am is currently the lowest-rated new show on ABC with an average of a 2.2 rating in the demo and 7.36 million. Those numbers will keep dropping unless future episodes perform significantly better. Of the 14 scripted shows currently on the network, Pan Am ranks 12th, beating only Body of Proof and already-cancelled Charlie’s Angels.
While Pan Am’s fate seems all but sealed, ABC doesn’t seem ready to throw in the towel just yet.
They’re reportedly bringing in veteran writer and producer Steven Maeda as showrunner. He previously worked on Miami Medical for CBS and Lie to Me for FOX. ABC execs, who apparently still really like Pan Am, want to hear Maeda’s story ideas before deciding on whether they want to order additional episodes for a full season.
It’s very likely too late to pull this show out of its downward spiral but perhaps ABC will get lucky and beat the odds. Typically, once viewers reject a show, it’s nearly impossible to get them to take another look.
What do you think? Should ABC keep Pan Am flying for a full season or should they just pull the plug and cancel it now?
Image courtesy ABC.
I love Pan am and have fallen more and more in love each week. Give it a chance and go through spring. I do not think they gave playboy a chance. Ratings are weird go through a full cycle different times of year have different watchers. These networks spend big money getting these new shows out there and then JUST GIVE UP TOO FAST.
PanAm should be given a little longer to succeed. I have watched them all. It is definitley not as good as MADMEN but give it some more time. In 1963 I turned ten years old and on my birthday I got a model of the Boeing 707 with PanAm decals. My father used to fly once a year on United from Cleveland to NYC. Half the time it was a prop job and half the time a 707 or Caravelle. Airports were neat then. I had to dress up. We looked like the family in the movie The Great Santini… Read more »
My husband & I both absolutely LOVE this show!! Once again it seems that anything on network TV that has a good storyline, good acting and is not related in any way to some kind of ‘REALITY’ just doesn’t get a chance. What an awful shame it will be if we lose this gem. We’re both keeping our fingers crossed that ABC will realize the show’s a definite KEEPER!
Amen! I don’t watch television for “REALITY”. I live in the real world. I want to be “taken away” by a tv show. That’s what Pan Am does. It takes us to a simpler time. I too recall having to get dressed up to go to the airport. It was an event and the passengers were treated as if the airline actually appreciated their business. But the best thing about the show is that it’s different from anything else on the air right now. I don’t know if the story lines are based in fact at all, but the idea… Read more »
Keep it!
love the show.. keep it please
My dad sued Pan Am in 1967 for discrimination. It became a famous lawsuit case; Diaz vs Pan Am Airways….my dad won and in 1971 men were allowed to be stewards…wondering if this will be in the storyline? Thanks Dad for pushing the envelope on Civil Rights!
Love this show please keep it, would like to knw more about Kate and Nico’s romance!!
Love the show. Please don’t cancel.
I think you blew it with your last show. Time to re-group.
From Canada: Keep it please!!!
GOOD BYE
I THINK YOU JUMPED THE SHARK ALLREADY
HOT BLOND CAN’T RESIST BLACK GUY.
WOW THATS NEW.
I’M OVER IT
Your not angry are you?
Keep it!!!
very disappointed with last night try at being PC. come on. i was a Pan Stewardess and very interesting things happened. making out with a homesick sailor makes the story flat, while that could have happened its so un interesting that you’ve almost lost a die hard viewer who’s been pulling for the shows success.
Love this show, watch it faithfully every week. Would really hate to see it cancelled 🙁
My husband worked for Pan Am starting in 1960, for 32 years. There has to be better stories then the last show. There is a lot more to tell then the kind of show last night.
It could be a good show.