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.
We really enjoyed this show. We like the combination of dram and humor and the personalities of the cast play well of each other.
We love the defenders and never miss an episode. I think the ratings have fell for the same reason many other ratings have fallen on good shows…too many breaks and shuffling of time slots. The chemistry between Jerry and Jim is great and normally takes time to create but it was their from the beginning. However, the writing needs a little more depth.
The Defenders is a good show. I suppose if it’s cancelled it will be replaced with another inane reality show.
We LOVE THIS SHOW.
To bad that it would get cancelled… because it’s entertaining and a decent show.
It’s NOT all based on sex… or extreme violence; gezzz go figure.
PLEASE don’t cancel……..
Great cast !!!
I enjoyed the show, and hope to see it return. The only problem was the weekly re-scheduling that conflicted with other show viewings. There’s not very much acceptable entertainment shows (utilizing all of the networks), and to bunch them into the same night forces me to pick and choose among them.
I love this show! My entire family watches this show. The best new show of the season. Maybe it needs a new night to air. I really hope they do not cancel it! How are ratings tracked anyway??
why did you move it to friday in the first place ? I dont like blu bloods , and this a great show , and the good shows always get taken off while they aire crap , you should put it back on
This show is great! Please keep it on the air. It is funny, smart and interesting!
Only saw it once in March, but loved it. Please don’t cancel it. Great cast, great story, but Friday night at 9PM is a terrible time slot. Wednesday or Thursday at 9 would be much better. Hope you don’t cancel the show. Give it another chance on a different night.
Keep this show on the air and give it a constant time slot. I watch all types of tv. This is the best program put on in a long time. CBS did not give it a chance by moving it all over the place from the first month it was on air. The legal plots are so good and new to the concept of combining comic, drama and law. I am so disappointed this show would be off when so much crap is kept on.
I really hope they get this show. I really like it. I was confused when they changed the time slot. I wish they would have kept it on Wed. UGH!!!! I really hope they don’t cut it!
I love this show. It is funny and the actors have great chemistry. The problem I had was when it got moved to Friday nights because I forgot it was on. I hope they keep it on and move it to Wednesday or Thursday.
The Defenders is a great show. Leave it in one time slot and let it grow. Please don’take it off……
The Defenders is a terrific show. It is probably going to be cancelled because people are idiots. They prefer **** like American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, and other stupid dead air drivel. Besides there are probably too many white people on the show to satisfy certain elements. The Defenders deserves to be kept on the air. The stars’ chemistry is great, the plots make sense, and the scenery is beautiful. I hope the Defenders remains on TV for a long time.
I thought the show was incredibly funny. They’re trying to replace it with Chaos which was the worst new show I ever watched. The Defenders should be renewed for another season and put it back on some night other than Friday.