TNT has announced that their Holly Hunter drama is coming to an end. Interestingly, it wasn’t exactly the network’s decision. But, regardless of who’s responsible, the fans will have to wait quite awhile to see the story wrap up.
Saving Grace focuses on a police detective, Grace Hanadarko (Holly Humter), wo’s great at her job but finds her personal life far more challenging. The series also features Leon Rippy, Kenny Johnson, Bailey Chase, Laura San Giacomo, Gregory Cruz, Lorraine Toussaint, Dylan Minnette, Bokeem Woodbine, Mark L. Taylor, and Tom Irwin.
The show debuted in July 2007 and attracted 6.4 million viewers, making it the highest-rated cable premiere so far that year.
Season two’s debut attracted 5.2 million and, this past June, season three’s return drew just 3.5 million. TNT remained very positive about the series, likely because it consistently rates first with adults 25-54.
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Last season, the network ordered a second season of 15 episodes. The first nine aired during the Summer of 2008 and the other six began running last March. TNT ordered the same number for season three and the first grouping finishes its summer cycle this Tuesday.
According to THR, TNT wanted to pick the series up for a fourth season but Fox TV Studios actually declined the offer. The drama is an expensive one to produce and there’s apparently not enough profit in the cable deal for the studio to continue.
A spokesperson for Fox told Variety, “In today’s rapidly changing television world, shows need to drive revenue off too many sources in order to be profitable for all the partners. Unfortunately, the economics of the series mandated stronger international and ancillary revenue than the show was able to generate. We thought an appropriate ending after three extremely successful seasons was the best outcome for all parties involved.”
Since the series has several ongoing storylines, Fox and TNT agreed to produce three additional episodes to wrap up any loose ends. The network will combine them with the remaining installments from this season and hold them until next Summer. So, fans will get some closure to the series but they’ll have to wait a few extra months to get it.
Michael Wright, TNT’s Executive VP head of programming, is sorry to see the show end. In a statement, he said, “The show’s continued success is thanks to the amazing talents of Holly Hunter and [series creator] Nancy Miller, along with a tremendous ensemble cast and a highly skilled production team. They have taken us on a unique journey, and we look forward to seeing where it will ultimately lead.”
What do you think? Are you ready t say goodbye to Grace Hanadarko? Would you like to see the cast return, perhaps in TV movies?
Image courtesy TNT.
I will miss the show a lot! But you know what they say the more mony you hae the nore money yu want! Doesn’t he kow e can’t take it with hi when he dies! LOL
@ Sandy – Two things: first, I think Rupert is trying to find a way to take it with him and second, there are two petitions , which may or may not do any good, which can be found at http://www.petitiononline.com/TNT37/petition.html – and http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/saving-grace-on-tnt – I don’t know why are two, but it wouldn’t hurt to sign both of them… and, you can copy them from this post and send them to all you know… They have almost convinced me that it’s a hopeless case, but, then, wasn’t Grace herself a hopeless case when Earl first met her? We can’t… Read more »
Mary Sagor you have hit the nail right on the head. Nobody cares what the public wants to see, its all about the money. I can’t imagine there not being any Grace or Earl to keep us entertained or to keep our thoughts running deep about what Earl’s message is to Grace. My grandson drew a picture wishing me to get well, it was me laying in bed watching the telly..lol. Its how he remembers the past 18 months, his Memaw laying in bed trying not to die. As I said before, one of my greatest joys was watching Grace.… Read more »
Marilyn, you know I am keeping you in my prayers and that I believe that we all have our own version of Earl on our side. In the meantime, if you want to, you can go to Amazon.com and find an 8-DVD set of the first two seasons of Grace for about $30.00. I don’t know how long the offer will be that low, but I did order it at that price. And if it is not as advertised I will be VERY upset!!! I will also order the third season when it is in my budget…yes, I know this… Read more »
As much as I will miss Grace and EArl, the following excerpt from the article above sums it all up: “According to THR, TNT wanted to pick the series up for a fourth season but Fox TV Studios actually declined the offer. The drama is an expensive one to produce and there’s apparently not enough profit in the cable deal for the studio to continue.” It has nothing to do with Miss Hunter wanting out or with the fact that there is an angel in the show. It’s all about MONEY, as if News Corp (which owns Fox Studios and… Read more »
PLEASE RECONSIDER! This is one of the most creative, ever-changing shows on today. Holly Hunter is amazing and she is totally perfect for the Grace character. If you haven’t seen this and followed it from the beginning, you have missed some great television. I, for one, am very sad.
saving saving grace is i feel a downhill battle but if they could come up with these great people to do 2 hour shows say every 2-3 months wouldn’t that be great..Miss Hunt has me in a very sad and desperate feeling—she has gotten so thin–why doesn’t anyone talk to her?aren’t any of you friends? thank you
@ Admin – Speaking of ratings, if they were that bad, TNT would not have wanted to renew the show for a 5th season!
@Mary Sagor: I don’t know the particulars however, the ratings were better last year when TNT said they’d like to renew it.
Is that when they started playing with airdates? I love the show but could not see it for nearly a month while I was visiting friends in CA . When I returned, I couldn’t find her. I finally did, at 3:00AM. I even did a search on AT&T Uverse, and the only Saving Grace listed was the movie…
That’s because they moved her all over the schedule and many of us lost her timeslot. Naturally ratings would fall if we couldn’t find her…
Bobby, you do not have to be immoral to enjoy Grace and Earl’s interactions! Quite frankly, I am not certain that anyone who actually behaves like Grace would be watching the show. The questions posed by Earl apply to everyone. You do not have to be any particular religion or hold to any particular beliefs to see that her actions got her to where she is and that Earl’s presence is a manifestation of God’s unconditional love for each of His creations. This is the value of this show. Every main character on the show is exposed in one way… Read more »
I think any show which humanizes God is bound to fail. My daughters grew up enjoying the moral lessons from Joan of Arcadia, they have both seasons and still watch them , eventhough they are no longer teenagers. They enjoyed the humanization of God, that in their sunday school classes seems like a white haired old man like Santa Claus. My granddaughters are now fond new fans of the series which ended five years ago. In the same way, Grace reaches an older more , immoral target audience. The plot line oftens shows Grace as needing a moral tune -up… Read more »
Bobby, I just saw a Joan of Arcadia marathon on the SyFy channel. You might check the listings there to see when that show will be aired again…Good luck! From what I understand, they did not make enough episodes of Saving Grace to warrant putting it into syndication on other networks. I’m not certain why they would do that, considering that their excuse is “not enough revenue” from the show. Syndication is one of the ways they add money to the profits of any show. But these foreigners (Rupert and Emiliano) fon’t seem to have bought into the idea of… Read more »
My wife just informed me that she read in TV Guide that Holly Hunter wants out of the show to spend time with her family. I hate to hear this but it seems to be why the show is ending it’s run. I suggest replacing her with another actress. It’s been done before. It might take a couple of episodes but if the writing is still good and the rest of the cast remains intact it should work. Just my opinion.
Ray
As entertaining as all the comments have been , the goal here is to save “Saving Grace”
This is one of the most fantastic shows on right now and losing it is unfathomable !!!!
What can we do to get another Network to pick it up?
Won’t TNT reconsider?!
Has the shows focus scared some of the advertisers?
It’s such an incredible outlet for people for many reasons.
In the sea of such wastes of airtime, like “reality” tv this is my Saving Grace!!!!!!!
Please don’t cancel “Saving Grace” !!!!!!
@ L’Aura – TNT would have renewed. It was Fox Studios that cancelled production.
There are two petitions , found at
http://www.petitiononline.com/TNT37/petition.html – and
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/saving-grace-on-tnt –
I don’t know why are two, but it wouldn’t hurt to sign both of them… and, you can copy them from this post and send them to all you know…
Thank you Mary Sagor , It’s nice to have venting avenue, hope it makes a difference!
Re: Mary, yes dear, I read Hunnys comment and I did read all of your post as well. What is so offensive to me is that we are all on here with one goal in mind, and thats supposed to be Saving Our Grace! When someone like Carla starts spewing BS like she did its totally offensive to me. I have spent the last year fighting for my life, trying to defeat breast cancer and watching Grace was one of the few things that truly brought joy into my life. I could lay in bed and watch the show over… Read more »
Marilyn, I know that you will win your battle. I have seen too many women who have won that war to believe that you will not also be successful. It is a terrible and lonely thing to go through and I am grateful that you found our Grace and Earl to keep your hope and spirits focused on that ultimate victory. What I have read in all news articles is that Rupert the billionaire and Emiliano his Italian import decided that Saving Grace does not create enough cash flow to warrant continued production by the News Corp subsidiary, FOX Studios.… Read more »
PS -yes, I make typing errors! Don’t hold it against me, please.
Just as I hit “send” I saw the typos I missed during the first reading … Just give us a promise that Grace will be back next season and you will no longer be subjected to my typos!
AMEN Marilyn, AMEN! Thanks for saying what many of us were thinking. Let’s just concentrate on saving “Saving Grace”.
Regarding comments posted by Carla and Mary: this is not the political forum to discuss who did what wrong in the country. Go to some political website to blow your smoke up someones hiney. All this is for is Saving Grace, nothing more. Please people, keep signing the petition that has circulated several times. Perhaps there will be a way to persuade another network to latch on to this tremendous show and continue it ad infinitum. Thats not misspelled Carla, its the way you write it. God is what Grace is all about, not politics, so lets keep this forum… Read more »
Marilyn, if you read what Carla and I wrote, we too were complaining about the political comments thrown in by others, such as Hunny. If you read the last sentence in my post, I said exactly what you did. If you read back through the posts from the beginning you will see that there have been numerous anti-Obama plus anti-Bush comments by a variety of people and I have rplied to each of them that this is not about politics, it’s about SAVING SAVING GRACE> I agree with you entirely, I just don’t think you are directing your comments to… Read more »
Are you kidding me??? You people will use anything to bash PRESIDENT Obama. Obama is a much more spiritual man than Bush even thought about being. Bush’s was for show ONLY. President Obama has done more for the American people in one year than Bush EVER did. Tax cuts he didn’t budget for (yea, that pitiful $600 went such a long way…it was gone before I even got it, but his big oil buddies got a HECK of a lot more than $600) and what was left…just a HUGE deficit he didn’t budget for and a surplus he squandered; a… Read more »
@Carla: THANK YOU for being able to enumerate the bush’s dealings so well!! I am appalled at the way that people expected President Obama to correct all that he inherited within the first three months of his term, without being allowed to create an income to cover the deficit! But, he did come up with a plan to give the middle-income families a break and let the millionaires and big corporations take up the slack created by the man THEY elected so many years ago. Now they are screaming “SOCIALIST” and trying to turn us against the only person who… Read more »
Osama Obama prob tole Murdoch @ Fox to cancel Grace cuz it had people making their own decisions and it Had God as a main theme in it and if he has his way, everything that has ANYTHING TO DO WITH FREE WILL AND GOD HE IS GOING TO GET RID OF IT!!!!!!