Last night, NBC burned off the final two episodes of Prime Suspect. The TV series has been ratings-challenged right from the start and, in November, NBC acknowledged that they wouldn’t be ordering any installments beyond the initial 13 episode order. The official word was that they would re-evaluate once all of the episodes had aired but everyone knew that it was really being cancelled.
If there was even a glimmer of hope that Prime Suspect might see a second season, the ratings for the final episodes didn’t help. Prime Suspect’s numbers continued to dwindle in the latter part of 2011. Last night, following a month hiatus, the finale registered a new series low.
Prime Suspect has been all but officially cancelled by NBC and its replacement, The Firm, is doing even worse. Last Thursday’s episode registered a 0.9 rating for its fourth episode. It took Prime Suspect 10 weeks to drop that low. Fortunately for fans of The Firm, NBC purchased 22 episodes up front. It remains to be seen if they’ll all air.
At the recent TCA press tour, NBC execs noted that, had Prime Suspect been on a premium cable channel like Showtime, it would have been declared a hit and would have been quickly renewed. Maybe but we’ll never know.
What do you think? Are you sorry that this was the end of Prime Suspect? Why do you think it didn’t catch on? Would it have been a hit on HBO or Showtime or even on a basic cable station like TNT?
Image courtesy NBC.
i really enjoyed the show. it was the only crime drama ive watched since the shield. disappointed that the ratings didnt reflect the quality of the product. how can a show thats so well-received by those who have actually seen it be so hidden from the masses?? disappointed that reality tv rules all.
Liked this show. Maria Bello is a fine actress and really too good for TV. She raises the bar for other TV show actors. Sorry to see this one go, especially with all of the junk we are left with.
What a damn shame. I agree that if this had been on AMC, TNT, etc it would be a hit and people would be talking already about next season. There are only a few small flaws, but nothing major, and overall the show’s been my new favorite show from this season.
This just goes to show that time and again, TV execs can’t find their butts with both hands a map.
I actaully loved this show… it is really good and getting better. The problem is NBC did not do a great job promoting it at all. It was difficult for me to even find it on their website to watch at work.
Loved the show. Became one of only 2 ‘appointment television’ shows I watch each week.
Smart dialogue and interesting character development supersede the tired topics plaguing all cop shows.
Hopefully it will be resurrected somehow.
Horrible news! A really intelligent series, great writing and fantastic ensemble.
I only discovered this show on line and have looked forward to new episodes each week. It was not on tv at a good time for me to watch. I am very disappointed that NBC did not support this show and replaced it with the Firm which is very confusing and repetitive. Maybe some cable network will pick up Prime Suspect because it really was the only new show on NBC that I have enjoyed lately – it had an interesting interplay of many complex characters and moving performances from a great many character actors – unusual for network tv.… Read more »
This is a great show with so much future potential for character development. It probably would do well on cable. It’s a shame. Can’t they reconsider?
I loved that show!! I can’t believe they cancelled it! Boo NBC!
I loved this show!!! I wish they would give it a chance and I do not like The Firm at all!!
This had quickly become one of my FAVORITE shows!! I’m so sorry to see that its been cancelled. And The Firm….Horrible!! I also agree that NBC programming killed this show. The schedule was all over the place.
PLEASE!! Don’t cancel Prime Suspect…it is such a good show!! You have to give it time!! It’s worth it. Please don’t let another reality show win out…don’t care what the ratings show…not everyone watches that crap. 🙂
It was a great show that will likely be replaced with yet another “reality” t.v. series. What a shame! Perhaps if they tried matching the time slots properly they might get a different reaction. Maybe that was their “prime” agenda!
I loved the show – I thought it was great. Reminded me a lot of the old Hillstreet Blues, but better. Really liked the personality differences of the characters. I think they cancelled it before it could really catch on. They will really miss this show.
One of the few shows that I enjoyed watching!!!!! Actually, it was the only show on NBC that I watched….I will miss it.