Tonight marks the final episode of The Defenders for the season. How likely is the CBS freshman series to be back next fall with season two?
The Defenders follows a pair of lawyers operating out of Las Vegas. They’ll do just about anything for their Sin City clients, often taking on cases no one else will touch, and try to keep their sanity while doing it. The TV show stars veterans Jerry O’Connell and Jim Belushi as well as Jurnee Smollett, Tanya Fischer, and Gillian Vigman.
For its premiere, the series dominated its timeslot with a 2.9 in the coveted 18-49 demographic and 12.2 million total viewers. That put the new show in first place in both categories and essentially doubled the performance of ABC’s now-cancelled, The Whole Truth.
Unfortunately, The Defenders’ audience slowly eroded over the course of the season and by January had hit a new low of a 1.5 rating in the demo and 6.81 million viewers. CBS switched the series to Fridays in February and, not surprisingly, the ratings got worse. On Fridays, Defenders has averaged a 1.3 demo rating and that’s worse than what now-cancelled Medium was getting in the same timeslot.
If you look at the season averages, The Defenders is one of CBS’ worst performers. Though the network has not officially cancelled it yet, it is hard to imagine that CBS execs would consider renewing it for a second season.
What do you think? Should The Defenders be cancelled? Why do you think the series hasn’t attracted a bigger audience?
Image courtesy CBS.
DO NOT CANCEL the Defenders. It’s a great, enjoyable show. Seems the “junk” stays on the air and the good shows are taken off. Does this say something about the “mindless” TV people watch? Perhaps the Defenders should be aired at a later time? Friday evenings at 7 p.m. is not a good time. Too early.
PLEASE do not cancel “The Defenders”. It is the BEST of its type today. I love the
way Nick & Pete relate to each other….good humor. The court cases can get one to thinking on some good subjects. This is a good show….there are far too many today with too much violence and too much sexual overtones. I live in a senior community and I hear many people say “at last…a good, clean, show with good humor”>
I love this show…finally something on Friday night to watch and laugh, something that holds your attention, but doesn’t give you nightmares from all of the graphic violence!…Don’t cancel!!!!!
I love this show. The characters are fresh and real, the plots are satisfying and the dialog is well written. I record the show and watch every episode.
Please keep it! A fun show.
I love this show, and i haven’t missed and episode of it. It’s a great show and has a good mix of old style and new modern style as far as lawyer shows go. hopefully the creators could get a second chance and get better ideas for shows. but apparently it’s not working out. CBS, DON’T CANCEL THE SHOW, it’s one of the best shows on in my opinion.
Please do not cancel The Defenders. It is an excellent show. The writing is superb and the acting is incredible. It is a show with a lot of heart. Extremely well cast.
PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT CANCEL THIS SHOW IT IS THE BEST EVER!!!!!!! When I heard I was very upset even if I miss it I watch it on demand Again PLEASE KEEP IT ON FOREVER!!!!
Leave it on—–again I beg you as it is a GREAT series! The relationship between the 2 main characters makes the show work. You really need to promote this show, that is why you have low ratings not because of the show but because it has not been advertised or promoted enough. Come on CBS—-be smart smart!
The show is light hearted and just what we need at the week’s end. But to attract the younger deomographic, they won’t be home watching TV on a Friday night. Change to Wednesday night and you might see an upswing in the number of viewers.
Please do not cancel. Didn’t help it to get established when you moved it or kept bumping.
This is one of the best new shows on TV. It’s nice to watch a show that doesn’t have several underlying storplot lines that just confuse the audience. It’s clean with just the right amount of humor and has great story lines. It needs to be changed to a different night and promoted more heavily. I agree that “Blue Bloods ” should be the show to be cancelled. This story has been told a million times over.
Do not cancel “The Defenders.”
This is one of the best drama type comedies available today! Please don’t cancel! Advertise more clips during peak air time. The Defenders make a great team and I never get bored. You can do away with Blue Bloods instead!
Do not cancel. I love this show. I dvr and watch but never miss it. Thanks for putting something on that is as entertaining and enjoyable to view as “The Defenders”. Great acting and story lines. A show I always look forward to seeing. A well written series. One of the rare non-cable programs I watch.