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.
 Loading ... |
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.
what a shame–the best new show in years. hope it can get a major network to give it a time slot
Every bit as good as NYPD Blue, and with Steven Bochco producing, it should have been. Needs another network to pick it up.
I am vary disappointed to see that the show has been canceled! But amidst all the of its competitors, I can see the difficulty in keeping up with the series. It somewhat frustrating that the networks come up with all these really great series and expect all of its viewers to manage to keep up with those that they’ve been long time fans of and then to add a new series to their prime-time entertainment. I would really love to see what happens with Judge Kessler and the ethical bind that she got herself in as well as where Jerry’s… Read more »
I thought this show was excellent , i’m in my early 60’s and I like shows that have the little side stories going on within the show. I don’t know what’s wrong with TNT they bring on good shows with about 6 or 7 episodes and then end the season show re-runs then you have to wait about 6 months for a new season. The Closer , Men of a Certain Age, they all do the same thing. Theses are all great shows……. It’s just about the only good drama on .
I can’t believe Raising The Bar was cancelled! Great story lines and actors. What a disappointment.
Raising The Bar was one of the best shows in a very long time. Why do all the good shows get cancelled and the bad ones stay on forever????
I am quite suprised to see this show canceled. Maybe if the network promoted more to the local channels when it was airing the past season, it would have kept many of their viewers.
It was good entertainment that felt real especially the feuding between the prosecutors, defenders & the judges, the favortism amongst the peers & the dedication & fight given to the clients.
Hopefully TNT will re-think their decision and bring back the show with BETTER ADVERTISING!
It’s too bad…. I’ll miss it 🙁
This is a shocker to me. but not surprised. steven bochco is an excellent man for the entertainment world, just look at what he did with hills street blues, and how long that show ran?This is completely crazy, and i have to say that i totally agree with the many, many disappointed fans out there. I only watch a handful of shows on tv, and the great ones get the axe way too soon. I too hope some other network sees how great this series really is. I think tv really sucks, and it’s in need of some serious rivival,… Read more »
I can believe that this show was cancelled. TNT has crap show I only watch Raising the Bar it was such great show. The problem was that TNT did not offered information of when the next episodes would air???? Lack of advertising was what drove audiences or new ones alway… Hope that TNT rethinks things Brings the Show back !!!!
tnt wouldn’t know a good thing if it bit them in the ass
With such crap on TV most of the time, it was so refreshing to watch a well written, pertinent show. I can’t believe some of the ridiculously stupid crap shows that keep going but a great show like this is canceled. I guess it was too normal to be considered good entertainment. I am so sick of flashy, so-called reality crapola, or the completely unbelievably stupid, crime, psycho, chase’em – catch’em, you gotta be frikin kidding me, TV that is so over done it just gives you a headache. NYPD Blue was a good show. Law and Order use to… Read more »
I’ve been losing my mind search and searching and searching for this to come back!! Say it ain’t so!!! I need my Mark-Paul fix!! Puleeeeeeeeeeez!! Several LEAD characters were, for once, FEMALE, smart, sexy AND funny! Stick with it TNT – give it a chance!!
TNT was never clear about when the episodes would air so that there was a definitive day/time around which the show could build an audience and returning viewers could rely upon when to look for the next episode. That aside, the show was very well acted although completely unrealistic. Since when is realism important? The mix of characters was terrific and the plots were interesting even if not realistic. This is a show that attracted a wide audience among young lawyers—young people making a lot of money and who were great targets for ad placement and ad sales.
I thought this show was funny, brilliantly orchestrated and had a spectacular cast.
I am sorry to see it go.
I am very sorry to see this very good show cancelled. I agree with other comments about poor advertising and never being able to tell when the show was returning. I’d love to this show picked by another network.