NBC’s remake of the UK police drama, Prime Suspect, was one of the most anticipated new series of the new fall season. Unfortunately, it hasn’t lived up to expectations. It’ll surely be cancelled and now, it’s just a question of when. Has NBC even tried to save it?
Prime Suspect revolves around tough-as-nails Detective Jane Timoney (Maria Bello) as she works in the male-dominated homicide department of the NYPD. The show also stars Aidan Quinn, Brian O’Byrne, Tim Griffin, Kirk Acevedo, Joe Nieves, Damon Gupton, and Peter Gerety.
The series debuted on September 22nd to a 1.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 6.05 million total viewers. Most new series at least get solid ratings for their debut but Prime Suspect was a disappointment right out of the gate and was in a distant third place in its timeslot. What’s more, many viewers didn’t stick around for the whole premiere episode, an indication that they wouldn’t be returning for the second episode.
And they didn’t. Prime Suspect dropped 17% in the demo in week two to a 1.5 rating and 5.7 million viewers. As the weeks have progressed, things have only gotten worse and worse.
To their credit, NBC execs didn’t give up on the series. They’ve been airing reruns on Saturday nights. When Playboy Club was cancelled, they filled the timeslot with repeats of Prime Suspect. Interestinly, that added exposure didn’t help and could potentially have hurt the show because the ratings for Thursday night originals kept falling.
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Two weeks ago, NBC decided to give the series even more exposure by replacing all of their weekday 10pm shows with Prime Suspect repeats. The result? Thursday’s original episode fell to an all time low; with a 1.1 rating and 4.03 million viewers.
For whatever reason, it’s clear that the vast majority of the viewing public has rejected this show. NBC has given them plenty of chances to see the show and they don’t want it.
At this point, the only reason that NBC hasn’t pulled Prime Suspect off the air is that they don’t have anything better to take its place, times are tough, and they’ve already paid for the episodes.
NBC ordered 13 episodes for season one and there’s simply no reason for them to order any more. With numbers like these, Prime Suspect is all but officially cancelled. It’s just a question of when NBC decides to call the time of death.
But, what do you think? Is the show better than what the ratings indicate? Why aren’t more people watching? Do you think Prime Suspect still has a chance at being renewed or should it just be cancelled now?
Image courtesy NBC.
My family and I love this show! It keeps getting better week after week. The late time is a problem for us, so I just record it to watch at another time. The characters are gritty and representative of what life as a Detective in a large city is like. Love the characters interaction. So hope this show is not canceled. It is too good to lose.
I love this show. Maria Bellow’s character is strong and impelling. Her dry wit and nuances are fantastic. She reminds me of a female Det. Stabler on Law & Order SVU. Her interaction with the three guys that work with her is very entertaining. I will be incredibly disappointed if it does not return.
i thought it started off great, against my personal expectations, and has just continued to get better and better. it’s \not on ‘on demand’–a good way to build a new show; have they even given it a chance from the beginning??? it’s a terrific show — keep it!
So, if “only” SIX MILLION PEOPLE ARE WATCHING, that’s a “bad rating.” Network idiots. It’s not 1970, and every single person/family in the country is not sitting in front ot the TV on Thursday night…oh, never mind, I give up. Network idiots.
I really like this show, but it’s in a tough spot against The Mentalist and now Burn Notice. I usually watch it On Demand.
Intersting that the last series with Peter Berg’s involvement almost got cancelled and became the classic Friday Night Lights. Prime Suspect stands on its own despite its geneology. Maria Bello is great and its great seeing Kirk Acevedo more. Keep the show NBC!
Prime Suspect should not be canceled. It is one of the cleverest crime shows on tv today and Maria Bello is an amazing actress.
It will literally pain me if this show gets cancelled. It’s one of the most brilliant shows I’ve ever seen. The writing, acting, directing, editing are all off the charts. It definitely is more complex than most other shows that are broad strokes of a story, but it’s the subtle, layered, nuanced, at times hilarious portrayal of this world that makes it unbelievable. Sometimes I have to watch an episode twice to catch everything and it’s a sheer joy. Maria Bello is simply amazing. The other actors are as well. It’s more like a film. Unfortunately, it may be true… Read more »
Maybe TNT should pick it up since “The Closer” is ending. I mean NBC cancelled “Southland” and TNT picked that up. Saw how that went.
TNT is doing a spin off of The Closer called Major Crimes. NBC should just fall on its swords. What ever dreams NBC had have of getting back into first place. They seriously need to redefine their brand and do more progressive shows like the cable model. Not only are all there shows rating are down. It seems their core audience is starting deteriorate.
I love Prime Suspect, but maybe it’s just too subtle for the average viewer. I see it as more character drama than crime drama.
Personally, I & members of my family like the show. However, in the UK version, wasn’t she the head of the unit? Don’t understand why it’s not catching on.
DON’T.
Prime suspect is the smartest Crime procedural on broadcast an actually feels like a real character study. which I can’t say about all the other contrived or bland ones on TV. NBC should of allowed for a 3 act serialized arc in the first three episodes. NBC didn’t allow this show to be innovative outside the gate. They put it behind some seasoned comedies so it never got a real lead in. NBC understand that if you want to do a procedural now a days. There is whole lot of competition. So if you are not going to allow it… Read more »
I was really excited about this show, having heard so many great things about the UK version, but when I was finally able to watch the pilot, I was sorely disappointed. The crass way the other cops handled her was so off-putting I almost stopped watching it. They took steps to correct the “battle of the sexes, us against her” mentality in the subsequent episodes, but the damage was done. Such a shame, Maria Bello is great, but this show is not.
I have watched the first two episodes, and I didn’t find anything really interesting about the show. It is just a typical NBC show, which means it is mediocre.