The Terra Nova TV show has been officially cancelled by the FOX network. However, though you won’t see dinosaurs back on the FOX schedule next season, there’s still hope for a second season.
For those who came in late, Terra Nova’s produced by Steven Spielberg and revolves around a time when our planet has become over-developed and 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 cast includes Jason O’Mara, Shelley Conn, Landon Liboiron, Allison Miller, Naomi Scott, Alana Mansour, Stephen Lang, Rod Hallett, and Christine Adams.
Terra Nova premiered last September with a pair of installments which 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 but held viewers through the two hours. The third episode drew about the same as the first two episodes. Episode four fell by 19% in the demo and later episodes hit a low of a 2.1 rating in the demo three times.
The season averaged a 2.5 rating in the demo and 7.52 million viewers. Those aren’t bad numbers but also aren’t good enough to ensure a pick up — especially considering that Terra Nova is expensive to produce. FOX entertainment president Kevin Reilly once noted that the network was committed to purchasing 22 installments if the show was renewed.
FOX initially had a December 31st deadline to make a decision on renewing Terra Nova but bought themselves some extra time by picking up the options on many of the actors’ contracts.
Reilly had concerns about the creative direction of the show so Terra Nova producers and 20th Century Fox Television began approaching showrunners and senior writers about possibly joining the series for next season. Reilly was reportedly pitched several potential scenarios and writers but he didn’t take to any of them. A last ditch meeting on Friday supposedly went well but Reilly ultimately decided late yesterday to cancel the show.
The decision comes as somewhat of a surprise since the network and studio both made money on the show and has Spielberg’s name attached. Word is that studio 20th Century TV will now shop the series to other potential outlets. The mediocre ratings and hefty price tag — reportedly about $4 million per episode — won’t make it an easy sell. The talent options supposedly expire at the end of June, keeping those castmembers from being in contention for potential new series.
What do you think? Are you disappointed that FOX has cancelled Terra Nova? Are you surprised?
Image courtesy FOX.
The show was not bad. It was getting better the cast was coming together and the episodes were finally getting interesting. it;s a shame. I figured they’d would cancel it sometime people don’t know their butts from a hole in the ground lets see season 2 and finish the story line before you say goodbye.
I started watching the Terra Nova series starting from the middle of the season (when I first discovered it) up through to the final episode. I liked the season finally. It was fast paced and filled with action, like a good 2 hour movie. Now that we are getting somewhere in this story and everything is falling into place, the big shots have to cancel it. They took the one SCI FI show on OTA (over the air broadcast) that was really doing well and cancelled it. Morons! I have no other SCI FI to watch since I don’t have… Read more »
I am not surprised at all. In fact I called it. The show was so horrendous in it’s writing, I am surprised it wasn’t removed earlier. I LOVE sci-fi and give a watch to almost EVERYTHING on that has anything to do with sci-fi, but this made me gag. I DVR’ed it and watched it on DVR when I was tired and sleepy. The final episode alone was a killer… Shoot the gate and his son it might explode, what will you do then??? But then they BLOW UP A BOMB RIGHT AT THE GATE!!! Hmmm, bullet? Bomb? Riiiihgt. You… Read more »
Very disappointed show has been cancelled. Loved it! My kids loved it! All too often it seems a show premieres, and just when it starts to find it’s footing, it is axed. Makes me not want to watch tv at all. I hate getting in to a show, only to find it is cancelled. Cut back on the CGI. Don’t really need to see the dinos, sounds and shaking bushes/trees can generate as much curiosity/tension as seeing a creature passing through.
Find a way to reduce the price tag of the show, and bring it back please!
I am a life-long science fiction fan, but I have to admit that this show deserved to fail. It was poorly-written and poorly-conceived. The plotlines were too obvious, and you could almost speak the dialog along with the actors.
I really expected much more from a Steven Spielberg production, but as he mounts an ever-increasing list of TV failures, I am now to the point where I avoid his shows. I also had hoped more from Brannon Braga.
I am a bit disappointed. I have always enjoyed Jason O’Mara’s work, but it usually on shows that are a little to unusual for the average TV viewer. I wasn’t particularly thrilled with the change up in the story that came up kind of fast, because it told me that they were trying some dramatic things to gain ratings, and didn’t expect the show to last long. I probably won’t miss the show, and I hope that this means Jason will be able to make another appearance on The Closer.
I am not surprised at all.
People can blame others for “not giving it a chance” but the same can be said for any show. TN was a niche show with a niche audience. You simply cannot have a show that costs that much to produce without having a wider viewing audience. I never watched a second of the show because I knew that it’s not my type of show. That’s not bad; it’s just personal preference.
Totally disappointed that it was cancelled!
I’m bummed. I really enjoyed the show and am disappointed with Fox for canceling it. I do think that the story line got a bit lame, but I thought it was salvageable.
I like it enough to want a second season
I figured they’d cancel it and put on some stupid sitcom or some ignorant football game or something like that. These people don’t know their butts from their nuts. Put that dadgum thing back on and let us at least finish season 2 and then cancel it if U want to but don’t leave us hanging out there in space and not know what happened.
I love Terra Nova. So did my entire family. We are all so sad and so pissed that they cancelled it. So many people didn’t give it a chance. It started off slow, as do most tv shows. But at the end of the season it really picked up and left you on the edge of your seat. Don’t people realize, most shows start out slow because they have to introduce characters and story lines, and sometimes even background stories. If people actually gave Terra Nova a chance they would have realized how amazing this show really is. I hope… Read more »
Though I’m not surprised by it’s cancellation, I AM disappointed. I really enjoyed the program, and hoped if it did get canceled, that it might get picked up for syndication. That avenue might generate enough revenue to cover the high production costs…
I remember when Terra Nova made its’ debut-I tuned in hoping to enjoy it ,but , I did not. I had a really horrible feeling while watching it as if I was thinking:What is this? I tried to stick with it,but,by the end of the second hour-I was done. I never watched after that. There were so many things that turned me off this show. A few examples would be: the son was very annoying and hard to like; everything about it seemed like a rehash of other series’ or movies mixed together; nothing at all interesting happened-there was nothing… Read more »
What is going to happen with the artifact they found, and where did the bag guys go ??
I know, they left it at a huge cliff hanger….im so pissed the cancelled
Maybe network will take pity on fans and at least make a 2hour movie that ties that up somehow….. sorta like Ark of Truth did for Stargate Sg-1.