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! 
Extremely disappointed by this news. I’m in the younger end of the demographic they wanted and I believe the problem was NOT the show, it was from the lack of promoting.
I stumbled across the show by chance – and everyone i told was instantly hooked. I think if they’d done a better job at promoting it, they’d realise there is a large fan base out there but it could be even bigger if they promoted it a little more.
Very sad move.
As a viewer CBS needs to know this was a bonehead move and you can be sure I’ll be doing my best to tell everyone to watch another station and as for me and my family we have already turned you OFF.
please.bring beack “Shark”.My feamely and I love this show.We live in Serbia and we watch every night a “shark”.I love a actoor James Woods.PLEASE BRING HIM BEACK!
Who do the people who take polls talk to? CBS actually get their hands on a very fine actor and crew, create an interesting legal drama, and then cancel the show after two years? It’s no wonder CBS doesn’t have a lot of top rated shows. Some one at the peak of the decision making ladder doesn’t have a clue and/or is listening to wrong people. In this instance, the problem can be fixed almost immediately – bring back Shark.
I agree completely. James Woods is the best and I loved the show. My whole family never missed an episode. My kids are 12 and 17 so I think CBS has got it wrong. Bring it back CBS!!! It’s a great show. Listen to your audience or we’ll stop watching you.
Are you kidding me? TV hasn’t interested me for a few years now. I finally found a show that I like, and it’s being canceled already? =( Bring back shark tank!!
Is there a petition somewhere in cyberspace to get CBS to bring the show back?
Shark was a good show, they indicate that it was canceled due to the age of the viewership. This was mostly due to it being aired at 10PM. The worst move for shark was when it was moved to Sunday night. Constantly starting late due to Sunday night football. It was very difficult to keep this show properly DVR/Tivo’d missing the ending due to the late start.
we never watched dancing with the stars or the other shows that supposedly out viewed shark-we feel that a lot of our tv is written by high school grads because there cheaper to hire
Please bring Shark back! My husband and I never missed watching. James Woods is one of the best actors around and did a great job!
please bring back Shark and The Unit love then both
Bring Shark back. I love James Woods in anything but this series was a highlight in my week. If the time spot was wrong, move it to a better one! I still have back epidoses on my DVR!
Bring it back please !!! it was an excellent show !!! I was waiting for the next season. There is nothing on TV on friday’s or saturday’s night, put it there, put it anytime and I’ll be there.
BRING BACK SHARK! I LOVED IT! I DVR’d it every week! Ive been waiting to hear and it wasnt brought back. We watched it at work every week! and we are all aged 25 – 55. WTF? Who’s these they people that make these decisions. Seriously… I hate reality t.v. This was definately better!
bring Shark back, it is the best show of justice and legal system, it is better than the Boston Legal, a lot better. and by the way, I’m 23, Young, so yes i watch Shark