Court will soon be adjourned for the Mark-Paul Gosselaar drama, Raising the Bar. TNT has decided to cancel the series after two seasons but, there may still be more to come.
From executive producer Steven Bochco, Raising the Bar revolves around a group of law school classmates who work on opposite sides of the courtroom. The drama’s cast includes Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben, Currie Graham, Melissa Sagemiller, J. August Richards, Jonathan Scarfe, Teddy Sears, Jane Kaczmarek, Stacy Hall, Natalia Cigliuti, Paul Joyner, Wayne Lopez, Jon Polito, and Angel Oguendo.
Back on September 1, 2008, the series premiere attracted 7.7 million viewers. That set a record for TNT as the biggest audience for a new series launch on regular cable. Unfortunately, much of the audience didn’t return for later episodes which averaged 5.5 million. Despite an early decline, TNT renewed the series for a second season.
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On June 8th, season two of Raising the Bar attracted just 3.6 million and shed half of the audience of its lead-in, The Closer.
As a result of the low ratings, the cable channel has cancelled the legal drama. Via a statement, a TNT representative said, “Everyone at TNT had a great experience working on Raising the Bar with Steven Bochco and the rest of the show’s terrific cast and crew. We’re proud of the series and appreciate the efforts of all of the creative people who were involved. Unfortunately, ratings for Raising the Bar’s second season did not reach the levels required for TNT to renew the series.”
TNT had opted to split the second season into two parts. The first dozen episodes finished airing on August 24th. That leaves three episodes on the shelf. It was expected that they would air in early 2010 but they haven’t been given airdates yet.
What do you think? Are you upset that the series has been cancelled? Why do you think that Raising the Bar failed — acting, storylines, or something else?
Image courtesy TNT.
I’m not that surprised. The first season lagged a bit for me, the series didn’t really pick up until midway season 2, but by then I was only partially interested because I kind of figured they would cancel it. Though I have to say it was a much better show than some of the drivel they show on the big networks, it seems Bochco gives us the same types of dramas which makes them familiar and less interesting. I loved that show they had on about ad execs with the guy from will and grace, but alas that was also… Read more »
Raising the Bar is one of the best shows on television. The characters are interesting and the story lines are riviting. I too do not enjoy reality television shows at all. It is a shame that such a good show had to be cancelled. When the season is spit, it interrupts the flow of the show and dooms it for cancellation. Please TNT reconsider!
It’s figures another good show cancelled. Other than Burn Notice and Bones there isn’t really much on except Reality tv. Wake up America, reality tv really sucks. I hate American Idol, Survivor, The Bachelor, and all of the other reality show. Is this what America has come down to?
One of the best new series in years. Maybe it was too real! Our justice system is messy, political and for those with money. This series showed it like it is and people need to be more aware of just how “justice” really works. Only show I watched regularly in years!
I, too, was searching for it and stumbled on this message it was cancelled! I am sick of the reality show stuff and hunt for good programming. All too often when I find it, the program is cancelled. Too little advertising will make any show go down the tube.
I, too, was searching for it and stumbled on this message it was cancelled! I am sick of the reality show stuff and hunt for good programming. All too often when I find it, the program is cancelled. Too little advertising will make any show go down the tube.
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MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY
My husband is 71 and I am 58 and we love Raising the Bar. Please count us in those who’d love to see it continue. Love the cast, chemistry, passion and lack of heavy dosing political points of view. Used to love Law & Order and won’t watch anymore because of their incredible political biases. TV programming should entertain and show balanced points of view or lose their audience.
IM SORRY, I WATCH LOTS OF CABLE AND NEVER KNOW WHEN THESE SHOWS ARE ON!ESPECIALLY FIRST RUN EPISODES OF A SHOW I LIKE. JUST LEARNED FX “THE RICHES” WAS CANCELLED!
It definitely should have been promoted better. It was one of the best shows on TV last year, but nobody knew about it. What a shame for intelligent television fans and the country. We’re left with so little quality, it truly makes me sad. Thumbs down to TNT……get somebody better in charge over there!
I can’t believe such a good show like Raising the Bar has been cancelled & there are so many bad shows still on. The characters were all great & my husband & I couldn’t wait each week for it to be on. Hopefully some other station will see this show for what it’s worth & resume it. We can only hope!
My wife & I really enjoyed RTB. Great cast chemisrty! The story lines were very strong with just enough of a twist to keep you guessing, not predictable. The RTB characters justified, in a compasionate way their own POV which was also something to ponder.
TV shows come and go; just wish the-powers-that-be would do what it takes to develop an audience…maybe RTB will get a second chance…USA channel…
are they crazy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!- was a great show – i will miss it
It is so sad that every time a show comes along that requires a little brain power and a little compassion it gets cancelled.
Raising the Bar didn’t fail, TNT failed. They didn’t advertise well. Nobody new when it was coming back. I had to search for it. I didn’t even know it was canceled until now. I was searching for it to see when it was coming back. We are very disappointed. I was a really good show. Lots of talent.
I agree that it wasn’t promoted well. When I finally decided to watch it, now I find out it’s cancelled. Too bad. It was a very well-written show.
I Love this show. I record it on my DVR so anytime it was on it would record so I would never miss an episode. Why on earth anyone wants to watch crappy reality TV is beyond me. Bring this show back…
I don’t see how people dismiss the fact that a show was cancelled due to poor ratings. The reality is that few people are interested in the show. Or do you think a show should continue to keep the mindless few happy? Ask your friends and family why they choose not to watch certain shows. If anyone is to ‘blame’, it is them.
Although several on here bemoan reality tv shows, they are cheap to make and generate more profit. Though that profit is won’t be spent on keeping a ratings loser such as Raising The Bar in production.
Hey Gavin, Talk about mindless….if your idea of good TV is watching some nitwit try to live in a house with ten other nitwits for 10 weeks, then I feel sorry for you. Your prostate commercials and others like them dictate what is seen and what isn’t. By the way, look at “Friday Night Lights”. Cancelled after two seasons…why….because of low advertising revenue. After all the bitching about the cancellation, NBC sells off the rights to DirecTV (101) and they have record audiences. Then the morons at NBC bring it back. You can take your reality TV and stick it.… Read more »
How sad that you blab a bunch of false-hoods before you know the truths of the matter: Yes, people may “bemoan” reality shows in this thread, BUT, those reality shows are not the reason RtB was canceled. RtB was canceled due to low ratings because the network crammed the date and time of the series premier down everyone’s throats, not only on their own network, but on others as well, garnering a record-smashing 7.7 million viewers for the very first episode, and after that, advertising for recurring episodes dropped sharply and people had trouble finding the recurring episodes, lowering the… Read more »
Oh yeah, and maybe Lifetime should pick up the show, they seem to be dialed in to what people like to watch! I also don’t watch commercials! My Tivo is worth every penney that it costs. So Networks, pay attention! People aren’t subjected to advertising like they used to be when watching TV, soon the advertisers will figure that out too!