Fans of ABC’s summer drama, Scoundrels, may have noticed that the series isn’t on the schedule any longer. Has the show been cancelled?
Scoundrels revolves around the West family, a clan that’s had many run-ins with the law. Dad (David James Elliott) has been sent to prison and his wife (Virginia Madsen) is determined that she and their kids not follow him. The TV show’s cast also includes Leven Rambin, Vanessa Marano, Carlos Bernard, and Patrick Flueger (in a dual role).
The series debuted on June 20th to a disappointing 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 5.23 million viewers. In week two, viewership dropped to a 1.0 in the demo and 3.66 million viewers. The numbers got even worse in subsequent weeks. It hit a demo low 0.6 and, the finale attracted the fewest number of total viewers, just 2.73 million. Those are some terrible numbers for a major network, even for the summer months.
Only eight episodes of Scoundrels were produced and, to ABC’s credit, they aired them all — despite the low ratings. Unfortunately, the network has little reason to want any more. So, no, ABC has not officially cancelled Scoundrels but, it is highly unlikely that they’ll order a second season.
What do you think? Why do you think Scoundrels didn’t fare better? Is it a better show than the ratings reflect?
Image courtesy ABC.
Loved the show. Should give it a chance on a different night. There is too much on Sundays to watch that my DVR cannot even keep up. The characters were all very interesting and the story line became a cannot wait for next week’s episode sort of thing. Such a refreshing change from reality and cop shows.
I think they should renew it, but just build the characters better. i really enjoyed this show it just lacked character depth.
Virginia Madsen is great as a tough-love mom torn by her love for her husband but seeing the destructiveness of his ways. It’s refreshing to see a beautiful woman her age who doesn’t look like she’s had tons of plastic surgery.
I think the show has enormous potential if the characters are given a chance to grow and flourish.
I like this show! And it has gotten better as its gone along–seems like it really found its legs, and I hope ABC brings it back for a S2.
I thought it was a great show….Loved Virginia Madsen and the kookie kids. Show like this should or could start on network and then go to a cable affiliate where there is less pressure for ratings. It’s Sunday in a long hot summer, people are either watching True Blood or coming back from whatever they did on the weekend. I would love to see it come back, I would certainly watch it. I was really happy to have an alternative to all the incredibly crappy reality shows that ABC has all over it’s schedule in the summer! I watched this,… Read more »
I stopped watching series a long time ago because they pull stunts like they have with Scoundrels. I LOVE the show (Scoundrels) and because they pulled it off the air, I will be forced to return to my ritual of watching sitcoms such as Sanford & Son and All in the Family.
I am so tired of ABC and the others pulling this on those of us whom enjoy a series and then are yanked from the air.
This is so disappointing!
I liked the kurt cobain inspired son he was a hoot.Ive never been big on David james Elliot but had a huge crush on Virgina madesen in the mid 80s.this show should have been on ABC family to begin with because it is a special show not for the main stream audiences that watch crap like the bachelor and ette and survivor.
There were so many character story lines, imo, they had no time to properly develop into full personalities. Of course, the lack of David James Elliotts’ screen time was a definite downer for me. Come on guys, Scoundrels far outshone what is being offered now, give it a chance to GROW. Every actor/actress on the show was very talented, maybe the writers need a little nudge! Anyway, I thought it was a hoot, and hope it continues!!!!!
We thought it was very entertaining and would like to see more! Patrick Flueger did an excellent job in his dual role and the other actors were equally as good. Bring it back!
My feeling is that this show should have been on during the week, i.e., Tues. Wed. or Thurs. at 10 pm instead of a Sunday night or anytime during the weekend. And only having 8 episodes, that was another drawback, it was just starting to get interesting, especially when Hope and Logan finding out Wolf was framed and just getting out of prison. So many possibilities for Scoundrels. I do hope TPTB at ABC will give this show a chance.
Scoundrels was up against very popular established shows–one being–“True Blood”. That makes it extremely difficult to attract a steady audience. The premiere put the father played by David James Elliott in prison which allowed his character very little air time. DJE has a very large following of fans and they were not very happy about his diminished role. This show became better and better with each episode. The finale had DJE’s character finally released from prison. It has now ended on a cliffhanger regarding several storylines. How can TPTB even consider not renewing it to the viewing public? It needs… Read more »
If DJE has such a large following, and the finale had the most airtime for his character, why did the finale have the LOWEST ratings out of all 8 episodes? The viewership was around 3 million but dropped to under 3 million for the finale, which was a heavy DJE episode. Maybe he doesn’t have the appeal that some seem to keep repeating over & over & over that he does. Just a thought, maybe it was because of DJE that Scoundrels ratings dropped?
Scoundrels didn’t have any characters that were worth caring about. I tried to watch the show but I found myself fast forwarding through each episode. It was also poorly cast. The no name actors were horrible. The character “Heather West” most definitely should’ve been cast with a more feminine and prettier actress. “Heather West” should’ve been someone that is pretty & soft enough to make viewers believe that she could make it as a model. There are so many things that are wrong with this show. It shouldn’t have ever premiered.
I may be the odd person out here, but I really enjoyed The Scroundels. I looked forward to it each week after I decided to give it a chance. I think, the writers could have found more stories to build on and yes, perhaps, a better time slot would have been better. That being said, I was a huge fan of FlashForward as well, and that show got cancelled too. Wow- maybe if I stopped watching TV altogether, some of these shows would stick around :=d Just a thought…….
There was too much competition on Sunday night for a new show. Give it a better time slot, and I think the ratings would improve.
i love this show, i do not no how many episodes i watched. Yes it should be on another night. Some people do not give a show a chance. Please keep it on.
There was no competition, all the other major networks aired repeats against Scoundrels. Quit making excuses for this poorly written, poorly acted show. It sucked in the ratings because it wasn’t a good show, period! To lose almost 1/2 your viewership in 8 episodes (from premiere to finale) indicates that people didn’t like the show, and the ratings reflected this fact. Look at the numbers that the repeats got, most of them got over 6 million, some even in the 7-8 million, for episodes that have already aired, some on their 3rd viewing. Competition my ass, Scoundrels just sucked! Can’t… Read more »
I hope they renew it. I watched all 8, and I have watched 5 1/2 seasons of the show on which it is based, New Zealand’s Outrageous Fortune. The show got better and better over the 8 ep’s, and the second season of the New Zealand show is really good. I really hope they give it another shot. Many shopws stgart slowly and pick up an audience if they are given a chance. Huge props to ABC for airing all 8, which was the complete 1st season.
I recommend people just import the original New Zealand show “Outrageous Fortune” on DVD as each episode of Scoundrels was just a scene-for-scene remake. With OF just starting it’s 6th season there are plenty more West adventures to see!