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.
Cheryl’s words to Mack “Do you people WANT to see me fail?” seem to apply here. Like Cheryl all this show is a little faith in its excellent cast, a more saturated marketing campaign and maybe a little improvement in the Cal and Heather sectors of the script. Viva Mack and Cheryl and snarky and scheming Hope.
I really enjoyed watching scoundrels and its my favorite show……….. I almost cried when i heard it might not come back…… To the creaters and producers : PLEASE MAKE SEASON 2 OF SCOUNDELS….. IT WAS MY FAVORITE SHOW AND THERE ARENT MANY SHOWS AS GOOD AS SCOUNDRELS
I loved the show! Why is it when a show is intelligent and fun it’s doomed?
Yes it should. I liked it and hate to be left hanging.
I was just starting to really get into the show and now I assume it’s not coming back. And right when it was getting good, what with Wolfe out of jail and the conflict between him and Sgt Mack when Wolfe most likely figures out what had happened between Mack and Cheryl. I was even starting to like the kids, well, 3 of them at least; I hated the blond daughter’s character. Or maybe I hated the actress, either way the whole show was growing on me. Hopefully DJE finds something new for me to watch because he’s a great… Read more »
i liked it–it definitely grew on me and i became quite fond of its different & quirky premise. The cast was great as well–every one held their own & i also liked to see a show based in Palm Springs–a new locale for a change. I wish they would give it another chance but they have cancelled many other of my favorite shows that got much better numbers…anything original seems doomed…..flash forward for instance——–still in mourning…should have been on syfy where it would have been appreciated more i guess.
this only good thing about this show is it got me watching Outrageous Fortun ( the far, far, far, superior NZ show on which it is based.
Outrageous Fortune turned out to be AMAZING!
I think this is a good show and will miss it. The problem is that shows get cancelled so quickly. The buzz at the beginning was that the ratings were low so why invest the time? Maybe it should go to USA. That is the channel I watch the most these days.
The actors were all very accomplished. The problem with the show was the scripts. They needed to be “tighter” and have a little more sly humor. Also, ABC put in so many commercials it ruined the continuity of the story line. The final insult was cutting the fight scene in the 7th episode.
If this show is canceled it is the fault of the script and editors. The same story was a hit in Australia for 7 years.
I agree, the slow started off slowly. And I think it took a little while for DJE to grow into his role. But, by the season finale, I was really enjoying the show and was looking forward to the next episode. I thought Virginia Madsen was cast well and I am a big DJE fan, though his role while he was in prison was definitely diminished. Now that he’s been released from prison, with the possibility of conflicts between Wolf wanting to stay a little left of the law and Cheryl wanting to go straight gives the show a good… Read more »
I agree with Joseph. This show has been abysmal ever since the inception. The writing, casting and acting have all been lackluster and stiff. I always get a snicker out of the same few women saying the same thing over and over again that there was not enough DJE. OMG…I’m sorry ladies but he’s not that popular and he’s a mediocre actor at best. Interesting how the ratings dropped more and more each time he was on screen heavily. And finishing with a 2.73 mil viewership is terrible especially up against all reruns which garnered over 5 mil to 8… Read more »
Michael,
Since you specifically pointed out my comment which I am free to do without your “criticism”, I’d like to point out to you that DJE starred in “JAG” for 10 years. 10 years is a long time for a show to last on TV. Enough said.
I thought that the show was just beginning to get its footing. David James Elliott adds so much spark to the show that now that his character has been released from jail, the story lines are endless and should get much more interesting. I’d love to see it be renewed. It may have been the time slot that was the reason that it garnered so few viewers.
I wonder, do many of the summer releases even make it? I think Army Wives is one of the few, Traveller didn’t make it (something about changing the air days and missing a week here and there didn’t help). With Scoundrels we did have the consistency of the same time every week (unless you, like me, live in Canada and CTV moved it to 7 pm so they could air So you think you can Dance Canada in the ABC air time slot.) There was a gap -was there not – of at least 1 Sunday it wasn’t shown? But… Read more »
I love it and definitely want to see Cheryl chooses Mack over Wolf.
I completely agree. I want at least one more season to see the love triangle sort itself out. The Mack/Cheryl dance is my favorite part of what is a pretty amusing series. It is at least as promising as Desperate Housewives, and how long have you been stringing that one along ABC? My advice is to do a better with the marketing when you BRING IT BACK next season.
Agreed. I want at least one more season to sort out that love triangle. In my opinion Mack and Cheryl are the best part of what is a fun summer. This light-hearted comedy is at least as good as Desperate Housewives which has been running now for how many years? If you want to make adjustments, I’d suggest sprucing up Cal’s and Heather’s plotline, which half the time are funny and the other half a little predictable. Overall this show is exactly the kind of guilty pleasure entertainment summer programming was made for. DO NOT CANCEL!
I thought it was refreshing and quirky. Hope it gets renewed!