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! 
********! I was Pi$$ed when I found out that Shark was returning and then found out it was just reruns on ION, I watch 9 shows on CBS and CSI is their biggest show and its getting 15.5 mill and Shark was getting almost 14 mill what the hell CBS throw us a bone. I’m sure the entire cast of season 2 would love to come back, Anyone that wants season 2 you can download on ITunes, Im 26 and in your stupid demographic. You suck
PLEASE BRING JAMES WOODS IN “STARK” BACK. THERE’S SO MUCH JUNK OUT THERE, DON’T BE AFRAID TO BUCK THE SYSTEM.
ON THE OTHER HAND IT HAS~~~~~~~~~OCCURED
TO ME JW, BEING THE SUPER TALENT THAT HE IS, HAS MOVED ON TO SOMETHING BIGGER AND BETTER THAN CBS’ OFFERINGS.
i think that james woods should come back on t.v doing shark season 3 it one of the best t.v Series ever
I am 16 years old and I absolutly love this show. I cant believe they would stop makinq shows just because of demogrphics…. total BS =/
I’m really sorry my vote doesn’t count cuz I don’t fit in the 18-49 age bracket. It’s a sad day when a good show is cancelled because it can’t compete with ‘Dancing with the Stars’! My apologies to ‘Seven’ and to Shark, we loved you!
I wish they would give shark another chance. Shark was one of the great shows on. The main character and the cast was worth watching. They have way too many Reality shows on these days. Put Shark the TV Series back on it would make it if you gave it a chance and put it on the right time.
I watched Shark faithfully. I think that CBS should have never cancelled the show. It was GREAT, I always looked forward to watching it. When it went off the air I searched for the DVD and only came up with Season 1 I would purchase Season 2 if it was out, but I have searched everywhere and nowhere to be found. It would be great if CBS brought it back. James Woods is a fantastic actor.
I think CBS is digging its own grave by cancelling its best and only shows that keep them in business
My Husband and I loved the show ” Shark ” . It was the best Law show since Perry Mason. I’m saddened that CBS would make that decission for the viewer’s. I think we sholud have had the opprotunity to have voted on that. I’m so glad to now see the reruns on channel 6 Ion. Good Luck to all the Cast of Shark. And James Woods is Fantastic.
I absolutely loved Shark, i was so excited when i found out it was coming on tv monday, only to be diappointed that it was re-runs. I was jumping up and down with excitement thanking they realized what a mistake it was cancelling such an awesome show. At least i get to see james woods in action again.
It kind of amuses me when I read that SHARK was cancelled coz it didn’t appeal to young viewers coz that’s a TERRIBLE LIE!!! see i’m 18 years now 3 yrs back, was 15 and couldn’t and still can’t get enough of SHARK. i mean i agree with most comments here SHARK was and is still a great show. Virtually all my friends who are my age are very disappointed c’mon guyz u saw how Sebastian Stark rocked the show. I’d like to think of him as ‘DR. GREGORY HOUSE OF SHARK’. I don’t understand why HOUSE – a very… Read more »
Shark is/was a fabulous show ! They just finished airing it here in Belgium and a LOT of people loved the show. Why is it always when I look on the internet to dig out more info about shows that I like, I stumble upon the news that specific show is cancelled? Ok, there was a writers’ strike, but still… There is a whole market in Europe open for that kind of shows. But the cable networks in the US want to make reality tv, …. they tried doing that in Europe too, but the majority of the people don’t… Read more »
Shark was exciting, fast paced, great story line with each episode, funny, and smart. James Woods was great in the role he portrayed. What else could you want in a TV show. Why did they cancel the show? As far as I’m concerned this show was set up to fail. I believe that the show was way too popular and pulled down ratings from other shows. If this wasn’t true tell me why are people still commenting about the show three years later. As a result of the mismanagement of this show I do not watch anything on CBS anymore.… Read more »
I agree with you 110% Linda anything that is close to being normal as opposed to fake reality shows doesn’t seem to have a chance. I was hoping it would have gone to a private cable station but no such luck. I have watched my dvd’s more times than I can count and it sill is a great show….
This was a GREAT show—
I cannot believe they would take it off.
Of course, I think reality TV stinks!