Tonight, FOX is airing the season finale of Terra Nova, the network’s latest foray into science fiction. Does the TV series have a chance at returning for a second season or will it be cancelled instead?
On Terra Nova, our planet has been over-developed and is overcrowded. Mankind’s only chance for survival is to make use of a newly discovered fracture in time and try to colonize pre-historic Earth. The Shannon family is chosen to participate but they find their new home is far from paradise. The cast includes Jason O’Mara, Shelley Conn, Landon Liboiron, Allison Miller, Naomi Scott, Alana Mansour, Stephen Lang, and Christine Adams.
The TV show debuted on September 26th with a pair of installments. They attracted an average of a 3.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 9.22 million total viewers. It was third in its timeslots and held viewers through the two hours, a good indication that they’d be back the following week. And, they did return. The third episode drew about the same as the first two episodes.
Unfortunately, that didn’t last. Week three fell by 19% in the demo. Over the course of the season, the numbers have fluctuated quite a bit week to week, hitting a low of a 2.1 in the demo three times. Terra Nova currently averages a 2.5 in the all-important demo and 7.6 million viewers. It’s the seventh most-watched scripted series on the network, out of 14, and currently has a “C” on our season ratings report card. That’s not bad but certainly not a shoe-in for renewal either. It doesn’t help that the show is very expensive to produce.
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In September, FOX head Kevin Reilly said that, because of the additional production time needed, a decision would have to be made, “Before the first of the year, at the latest. We couldn’t wait until the spring and see how everything else plays out; otherwise, we would never be able to deliver the following year.”
That decision has now been delayed until sometime in 2012. O’Mara recently tweeted, “Decision to pick up #TerraNova for S2 deferred to New Year by @FOXBroadcasting. Everyone involved remains confident and optimistic.”
While this delay doesn’t mean that the show is history, the network isn’t in any hurry to give it a renewal. The network is most likely waiting to see how well new shows Alcatraz and Touch perform before making a commitment to a second season of Terra Nova. If it does gets renewed, depending on how long they wait to make a decision, the episodes may not be ready until mid-season. Given the budget and the ratings, it seems unlikely to get more than a 13 episode order, if it returns at all.
What do you think? Do you hope that Terra Nova gets renewed for a sophomore season or should it be cancelled to make way for something else?
Image courtesy FOX.
Love love love everything about the show…gripping, original storyline, great characters, every week gets better and better and keeps me tuned in… PLEASE bring Terra Nova back for a 2nd season, my sons and I love watching this show together!
Please do not cancel this amazing show. All I can say is that this show makes me excited for Monday’s to come around. I look forward to it every Monday and do not watch any other show. The show is addicting. You just want to know what happens next every single week. I loved the first season and with all the unanswered questions I’m sure the second one will be just as good, if not better. DO NOT CANCEL!
Why is it every time a good sci-fi show comes out, they cancel it. Firefly all over again. Great show, great story line, great cast, canceled after one season. I love this show. Bring it back. If networks don’t want to spend the money to make a good series then why do it at all? HBO did it with Carnival, Great show and story. But they said it cost to much to produce. But they knew that going in. Same with Terra Nova. Of course it’s gonna have ups and downs in the ratings, but its a good show. We… Read more »
Bring it back. Sick of networks canceling good shows. Fix is usually better than the others at keeping the good ones. Don’t let us down Fox.
bring it back it rocks
I want to like it and defiantly want it back, but they really need to bring the acting up (mostly the main character Shannon) and the directing needs channel a bit more Lost. the potential is there but they are falling short and playing it to safe.. the last episode was a big improvement.
I really enjoy this show , there are so few family friendly shows available Please bring it back.
Bring it back, please!!!!
I love this show! I am not a big TV watcher because most of the new shows aren’t entertaining enough to hold my attention, much less get me back week after week, but I’m a Terra Nova fan. Taylor is an awesome character – part haunted hero, part macho man, part tender-hearted caretaker. The story line is getting better with time – lots of possibilites now that they have found the ship’s figurehead and Lucas escaping! If this show is cancelled, I’m back to watching Sunday morning news programs and Criminal Mind reruns. Please don’t cancel this show!!! Renew it… Read more »
Renew! Renew! Renew! What more can I say?
Terra Nova Rocks! It nneds to be renewed for a second season. There are too many questions that are umanswered.
DO NOT CANCEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THIS SHOW AND DEMAND IT TO BE RENEWED!!! I BETTER SEE A SECOND SEASON!!!!
Please do not cancel this show. This is a great show, almost epic even, and I do not use that word that often. I mean the new twist with the Badlands and Phoenix, I cannot wait to see what happens. Do not add this to the cancelled list like you did the 11th hour. You would be wasted your time to do so, even with all the new shows coming up, live this one going, PLEASE!!!!!!
Love this show please don’t cancel it
When I first saw the previews for Terra Nova, I thought it looked stupid and I turned it on to have a laugh. But then it pulled me in and I was hooked. I genuinely enjoyed this show and looked forward to it week by week. It reminded me of the type of show my entire family could watch together when I was growing up. I only wish it had a different air-time, Wednesday night instead perhaps. Mondays are really packed in terms of good television and I usually ended up watching Terra Nova On Demand since not all shows… Read more »