CBS has decided to cancel Shark after two seasons on the air. What killed the series?
Shark debuted on September 21, 2006 and stars James Woods as Sebastian “Shark” Stark, an arrogant and cutthroat prosecutor. The TV show did pretty well in its first season on CBS. It ranked 24th for the season with an average of 13.7 million viewers. The one downside was that the show’s viewers tended to skew older. But, in a season littered with prematurely cancelled drama series (Smith, 3 lbs., The Nine, etc.), the show’s ranking and survival was an impressive achievement. The series was renewed for a second season.
Season two kicked off on Sunday, September 23, 2007. In that 10pm timeslot, Shark had to compete against ABC’s popular Brothers & Sisters and consistently lost in total viewers and the all-important 18-49 demographic.
Like most shows, Shark’s production schedule was interrupted by the writers strike. When the strike was over, production resumed and four more episodes were created. After a long absence, new episodes began airing in late April. In the show’s new Tuesday night timeslot, it was easily beaten by ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and FOX’s Hell’s Kitchen in both total and 18-49 viewers.
The show’s chances for a third year were still up in the air until just recently. Ultimately, the combination of Shark’s inability to attract younger viewers, the writers strike, and CBS’ excitement over its new dramas is likely what led the network to cancel the series.
Woods tells the LA Times that the cast and crew were “very saddened” by the news but were trying to stay positive. He continues, “We’re a little baffled by the decision but we’re very supportive… None of us can figure out quite why. But we have no bad feelings. This show did an enormous amount for me personally. We all won doing the show.”
>The current season, cut short by the writers strike, is made up of only 16 episodes. Shark’s series finale is scheduled for Tuesday, May 20th. It’s unlikely that the episode will offer any kind of closure for the series. Stay tuned! 
WE WANT SHARK! I miss this show. James Woods is an incredible actor and I LOVED the show. WE WANT SHARK! There’s too many reality tv shows on. We need a good drama!
My husband and I looked forward to watching Shark because it was
always good with a great cast. Few other shows held our interest as
this show did. James Woods was intense and a good father for Julie
who was always so beautiful. We were very sorry to see it go as there
aren’t many good shows on TV anymore.
UNBELIEVABLE! book the show in a time slot where it can survive. Best show on TV…and bring back Jeri Ryan! J Woods….best damn actor around! Jeez! You guys! Oh, I forgot….over 49 doesn’t count now that we have a socialist environment and some of us can think and follow a script…not just mindless reality crap. Sorry…now I get it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi, I’m writing from Italy, where Shark is on the air on Sky TV. I’m shocked the serie is canceled, James Woods and his staff are very good in this serie and I would they don’t be hooked… :((
SHARK has become one of the best tv shows, why were they canceling the show? Were the CBS producer or whoever in charge crazy by letting this show off the air? I can’t believe it.
Hi,
I do not watch dancing with the stars; and I certainly do not waste my time watching brothers and sisters, Hell’s Kitchen, or any reality show there is. Reality shows are for stupid, non-intelligent people; who get a kick out of something completely stupid.
Please bring back SharK. There are smart people in this country who like smart, good shows and Shark is one of these shows.
Bright, intelligent, and wise people deserve a spot on tv as well as stupid people do.
WE WANT “SHARK” BACK.
Thanks
reality tv is stupid! All of ith is stupid and everyone trying to make a dime off of it is stupid! Reality tv is junk that only stupid people watch! BRING BACK SHARK!!! And for the people that watch reality tv….seriously if you don’t have drama and crap you deal with everyday, maybe you need to get back to real life reality. Who needs EXTRA drama in their lives. I mean seriously Get a life! If you think reality tv is anything special. All this “reality” television is such a pain in the bum. Oh and I’m only 21 and… Read more »
My name is Trevor Carrier and I am 17 years old. I do not know why they canceled
the best show on TV, is someone losing their marbles. The TV stations are crying
for good show, and when they get one they they cancel it. Please put it back on.
Bring Shark back I have never watched Am Idol, Dancin with the Stars or Brother & Sister nor do I intend to start watching these showsI enjoy a show with a good story We need it back
It seems that the networks change the times/days of shows just to play with the viewers. My husband has been asking me about SHARK and I had to tell him it was cancelled. It is very unfortunate because there are not many QUALITY shows still on television. Everyone is not excited about reality television. The network should give this show another chance.
Shark was great and wHat is wrong with catering to the older demographic. If you are not between 19 and 42 you don’t count? This was a good show. James Woods is always good. I have never seen an episode of BROTHERS AND SISTERS???? WHO CARES. And I would certainly watch Shark before Dancing or cooking. BRING SOME INTELLIGENCE BACK TO TV AND GIVE A DECENT TIME SLOT. The network should take another look.
I love Shark. Please bring it back!!! I hate mindless reality shows where we just watch people make themselves look like fools.
I’m a huge Shark fan who is saddened to hear of its demise,due to poor ratings. My question is, if Shark cant compete with those stupid reality shows, then why was it put in the same time slot as these shows, it seems to me it was setup to fail & that is very disheartening. To all the stations out there may I just say not everyone is sucked in by the cheap overflooding of useless reality TV ( My world did not come to a crashing halt when Paris couldnt pump gas,milk a cow,or fail at any other stupid… Read more »
This totally sucks. Shark is one of the few shows left that is actually good. Who cares about chef’s in kitchen or stars dancing and prancing around. I love shows like CSI, Law & Order snd SHARK. BRING IT BACK!!!! PLEASE
I WANT SHARKKKKKK **** BROTHERS & SISTERS