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.
Finally a good show! Do not cancel it!
This show is very refreshing. It has been countless years since I’ve found a new show to be excited about. ABC….PLEASE keep the episodes coming just how they are and don’t jack it up. The characters are all interesting and believable and the plot keeps developing and getting better and better. To cancel now would be very disappointing.
I think this show is full of interesting history and CLASS. finally a show that doesn’t have to stoop the level of the majority. this show is DIFFERENT, and i love getting to know the characters and the time period. PLEASE KEEP!!!!
I think they should stay with it, but maybe having it up against Sunday Night Football isn’t such a great idea. Maybe moving the show to another day might help, the show is good!
Keep this show!its appointment TV for me. I love it so much I dressed up as a flight attendent from the 60’s for Halloween. I would be crushed if this show was cancelled
Keep the show!! I love the back stories we are really getting into what makes the characters who they are. My personal opinion is that Sunday night is a difficult night for any drama series. Between family things and my husband watching football, it is difficult to sometimes sit down to watch, so I love the fact that we can watch it online as well. Give it another chance… Maybe on another night…
I like this show a lot, and somehow it’s the only new show I have watched this year. I really think that the show has some good potential. I like CIA storylines, but there is so much more they can do with the other characters, and I think moving Maggie to the Portguese help desk might be the right way to do that.
Please Keep! I love shows set in a different era! They are harder to do, I’m sure, but there aren’t enough of them out there! This is also one of the few shows that isn’t duplicated 5 other ways! (think cop shows, doctor shows, vampire shows….)
Keep the show. The episodes keep getting better and better.
Its a great show and people are watching football and then tuning in on demand. I hope it doesn’t get cancelled as it is very entertaining.
I freaking loooove Pan Am! Finally, a show with dignity… So tired of all this reality crap. If ABC drops the show I will never watch the network again. Keep Pan Am!!!
As a pilot and aero engineer in my 30’s I love to see aviation portrayed with the excitement and freedom I feel in the cockpit. In a nation with fewer pilots every year we need shows such as Pan Am to renew our interest in aviation. Keep the show!
This is a very good show, it is like a mini movie every week. We also get to learn and see different destinations. It is very refreshing!!! Please KEEP it …
Keep!!! Know how many baby boomers fondly remember that era? Hard to believe that not enough of them are watching this series… Don’t give up!!!
Tonight’s show was the best one yet! The characters are really falling into place. Hurrah for Pan Am!