Despite ever falling ratings, ABC’s not willing to give up on Pan Am — at least not publicly anyway.
At today’s ABC portion of the Television Critics Association Press Tour, network president Paul Lee reflected, “When it opened, it really brought a good audience to it.”
He then noted, “I think there’s a lot of goodwill toward the show. It’s a great cast. We have new and original shows right through the end of February and it’ll be in contention past that.”
Lee chose not to focus on the fact that, while Once Upon a Time and Desperate Housewives saw big gains following the winter break, Pan Am hit a new series low. The freshman series drew just a 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 3.96 million total viewers.
The recent airing brought the season average down to a 1.9 in the demo and 6.16 million, registering a “D+” on our ABC report card. Aside from Body of Proof, it’s the least watched show on the network that hasn’t been cancelled yet.
ABC initially ordered 13 episodes but then asked for one more. Only four episodes remain for this season, and likely the series. It’s slated for February 19th.
What do you think? Is ABC still considering a future for Pan Am or is it all but officially cancelled?
Image courtesy ABC.
Of course they’ll cancel it, in today’s society if it isn’t keeping everyone captivated every couple of seconds then it’s not worth it. It’s sad really, people just do not give anything a chance to develop anymore. Now I’ll admit that my first impression from the promo videos originally indicated to me another story about some ditzy girls having adventures with little to no content, like a desperate housewives in the sky. I was heavily wronged by watching the first episode and thank goodness I did. As far as the comments on it not being too great because of the… Read more »
I wish the ABC network ‘suits’ would quit peeing on our collective legs and tell us it’s raining outside. This show is as good as cancelled, and everyone knows it. I had very high hopes for Pan Am and found myself very disappointed because it’s clear that it wound up in the hands of the wrong people who basically sliced it, diced it, and turned it into junk!
I LOVE Pan Am! I think the writing is excellent, the plot is interesting and the cast is fabulous. Don’t cancel it!!! This is the only drama on TV that I’m actually interested in (although I still like Grey’s Anatomy!) Change the day & time slot.
I gave it a try and wish the rest of its flights are cancelled. Not worth losing any part of my life over. Almost as bad as reality TV.
I hope they keep it on. It really is a good show, but then this is a nation that would rather watch reality garbage where people get demeaned and insulted instead of watching real entertainment that rises above that level of content.
Keep it on. It keeps getting better and i’m hooked.
@bruce, I agree with all you wrote. I really like this show but I’m afraid they’re gonna cancel it cause I like it and they cancel all the shows I like! It’s original and different from all the others, please let it live!
@George: “Far fetched?” No, it just so happens that CIA does use people like airline stewardesses, bartenders, valets, etc, are couriers. The reason is, they interact with a wide range of people on an “invisible” level, i.e. how closely do you notice them. The one part that stretches the truth is that they are probably not people that do it with no training or formal recruitment. I actually think it’s one of the interesting plot points, but, maybe I’m just easily entertained. The other thing I enjoy about this show, is there are a bunch of beautiful women. That’s a… Read more »
Hope they decide soon…it’s taking up space on my DVR and I don’t want to waste time getting hooked on it if they are gonna cancel it.
MK, why don’t you take a chance and watch it instead of having it take up space on your DVR? It is a great show. Maybe if more people would watch it instead of just taping it, it would have better success. It is definitely better than all of these reality shows. I think most of those people are making fools of themselves. Pan Am was a great airline and most everything on the program (and a lot more!) has happened to someone. Unbelievable, maybe, but true. It is a reality show of the past and very enjoyable.
Put it out of its misery and give it a decent burial. I have watched all the episodes and while period styling is great, the plot and the characters are unbelieveable and one dimensional. Case in point the stewardess who works for the CIA is very far fetched . I simply find myself not caring what happens to the characters and actually hoping the plane would plunge into the ocean. Maybe that’s the way to end the show when the inevitable cancellation comes…..
I love Pan Am but it’s not getting the same promotional push as Once Upon A Time or Desperate Housewives that run before it on Sunday. If ABC will focus on the show the show will survive.
I love Pan Am – I think it would do much better at a different time slot. Sunday at 10:00pm is a difficult time. I feel that I have just gotten to know the characters and the story has just begun. Give it some time to develop!
I think it’s a great show, but it was competing in a time slot with shows like Boardwalk Empire and if they changed the show to say, Monday or Tuesday evening it should do much better.
Outside of Walking Dead there is nothing on cable during Sunday that has ratings that would hurt Pan Am. Pan Am is being beaten by the other network shows that it competes with. Moving the show to Monday would make things worse, because the competing shows on those nights are even stronger. Just ask Castle and Body of Work that currently play on those nights for ABC.
I agree with Susan. Keep it on. It’s getting better. Loved Sunday’s episode.
Keep Pan Am! I love that show!