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.
It was my favorite show. My wife and I enjoyed the show immensely and are bitterly dis appointed to learn of its cancellation.
This was the best new show this year and wouldn’t you know that they would cancel it. Maria Bello was great and so were her co-stars. This was the most believable cop show there is. Please bring it back for another season.
What a drag. This was the show my family looked forward to every week. We are really going to miss this one. I agree with everyone that has written in, Bad Call NBC 🙁
Glad I had my DVR set to record all the new episodes or I would have missed it. Never saw any advertisement saying that they were even going to be on! Bad call NBC….
Loved this show. This was one of my favorites and I am very dissapointed that it has been cancelled. I can’t believe that reality TV wins over almost every good show that comes out lately. This was a great cast that I wish that a cable network like TNT would pick up because it would be sad to see this one go.
What a shame. This is a great show with wonderful scripts and terrific acting.
This is a great show! I don’t have cable so I’m glad it wasn’t on HBO or TNT or I never would have caught it. I loved the last two episodes and although I really wish they would be continuing for years, I do like the sweet “ending” where she is finally accepted into the group. That’s the thing about great series that go on for years, they sometimes get ruined in their longevity.
Why not give new shows a chance before cancelling.? There are many shows that took time to catch on and need the ability to see if the audience will be there. Try a cable network and see how it goes.
I don’t know who runs the networks, but they don’t have a clue about good programming. Of course the last two episodes didn’t get good ratings, they ran them on a Sunday against the NFC championship game, duh! Many people didn’t even know they were airing since it was a different night than usually run. I guess the show didn’t have any knuckleheads from NJ drinking and fighting for the show to be a hit. It’s too bad that the well done shows don’t get a chance anymore.
Prime Suspect is a great show, it should be kept on. How do you judge ratings???? People do not necessarily watch the show the night it airs, we DVD it and watch it another day, so how can you tell who is actually watching it. the Firm is terrible, WHY replace PS with THAT?????
So they put the final two shows up against the NFL playoffs to see if the ratings get better? The show is great, but the humor must be too sophisticated for the viewing public. Just replace it with another mindless reality show if all they care about is ratings.
Very disappointed. Maria Bello brought a nice presences to the show. A good mix of comedy and procedural police work. Lacked a little action but that could easily be remedied. This series is taylor-made for a premium cable channel. I hope the powers- that-be find a new home for Prime Suspect.
Great writing, exceptional cinematography, and an extraordinary cast, led by Maria Bella. This series should be picked up by HBO, Showtime, TNT or a similar network. One of the best series you’ve never seen.
Loved the show. Will miss it. I enjoyed each episode.
I don’t get it. Why do all the best shows with great acting get cancelled? All the regular Prime Suspect actors did a great job of portraying their various characters. Maria Bello as a no-nonsense female cop had me believing in her. I’m tired of watching cop and spy shows with female leads who run after the perpetrators in 3-inch high heels! Come on! Give me a break! I also think the script is very well written. It’s a shame that the networks can’t recognize a good show when they have one. I’m gonna miss this one.
I agree! This show was really great, the actors all gelled really quickly and the story lines were good, too bad, I too am going to miss this show.