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.
Please DO NOT cancel the defenders. My husband and many of our friends love the dhow if we are not going to be home its ALWAYS dvr (recorded)…. Do these smarty pants that do the percentage of who is watching the program put into account the dvr watchers???This is a great sgow…come on CBS leave it alone and bring it back for another hit season…All the actors have great chemistry together CBS is one of the networks that has great shows keep it up!!!
it will most likely be cancelled by CBS,But i think the show has enough life for season 2,so how about TNT,or even NBC picking up the show…
Great show! Almost impossible to do well on Fri nights. Thats where shows go to die. Please renew this 1 & CHANGE IT TO ANOTHER NIGHT!
Please do NOT cancel the show. I have just discovered the show a few weeks ago and have not missed an episode since.
I truly enjoy this show! All of the characters, led by Jim Belushi, make the show enjoyable to watch.
Maybe CBS should consider canceling some of its other shows that are truly a waste of money for CBS! I agree that the show should be put in a better time slot where it will get more exposure – not less exposure!
Good luck “Defenders”
I THINK IT IS A GREAT SHOW, THE ACTING IS EXCELLENT, THE SHOW ITSELF IS A GREAT LAW SHOW, WHICH I THINK IS GOOD TO HAVE ON TV NOT LIKE THE OTHER SHOWS, AGAIN PLEASE GIVE IT A CHANCE, YOU ARE TAKING ALL THE GOOD SHWOS OFF AIR. SO WE HAVE HORRIBLE SHOWS TO WATCH. THIS SHOW MAKES YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT CAN HAPPEN. JUST AIR IT ON A TIME SLOT WHERE PEOPL,E LIKE ME DON’T HAVE TO TAPE THE DEFENDERS BECAUSE OTHER SHOWS ARE ON THE SAME TIME, PLEASE KEE ON
I love this show! I live in Vegas and am from L.A. and I notice a lot of it isn’t filmed here, but in L.A. but that’s ok. Jerry O’Connel and Jim Belushi are a perfect team. I love the rest of the cast too. I think they should give it a second season and promote it a bit more and it will take off. Remember Seinfeld? It took a few seasons to become a hit, but NBC didn’t give up. Come on CBS – Renew it!!
I ADORED DEFENDERS/ Oconnel/ belushi! I don’t watch American IDOL! I have WAY WAY BETTER taste, My fave authors, Grisham Stieg Larsson, my fave tv shows, mI5 for suspense/ high blood pressure pace, sustained. GOOD WIFE for intelligence. JOURNEYMAN for riveting, SURFACE ditto. Law and Order, orig formula and all others, BURN NOTICE. Defenders had that top notch quality and the warmth of those two stars and LEGAL stories . THEY bETTER bRING THIS BACK!
Please do not cancel this show. Along with The Good Wife, it is must see TV (Yes, I know, different network).
It’s one of our favorite shows, how about not jacking around the time slots
on good shows I dont have the time to look and see where you put my shows We are busy people. Honey where is the defenders this week?
Did you see where CBS put Blue bloods …CBS cares
Thanks the VanDreses’s
Please don’t cancel this great show. Cancel all those stupid reality shows! Leave something to watch for people that actually have a brain. Moving it to Fridays was a big mistake. Put it back where it was and watch the ratings soar!!!
do not cancel the defenders please.its the number one best show out there i watch that show every friday night at 8pm.
PLEASE DO NOT CANCLE THE DEFENDERS TV SHOW!!!!!
It is fun to watch one of the few things that is on TV. Move it back to the week nights 10pm promote promote promote and you will have a hit!!!
I have spoken to several people who loved it who have missed it on Friday nights 8pm to early for 30 somethings and Fridays a very bad move…..Please bring it back just one more season ….different time and day.
We like The Defenders. We watch it every week. I was shocked when I read it might be removed from our list of shows we watch. Friday night at 8:00pm is great with us. The cast is very entertaining (men and women).
The Defenders is a great show, it has some humor in it which I think we all need. I like all of the people who are on the show. Try to keep it.
PLEASE DO NOT CANCEL THIS SHOW!! The Defenders is one of our favorite shows! My husband travels but he always makes sure I have recorded The Defenders so he can keep up with it. It is a lighter, more colorful look at an otherwise overly dramatic subject. It does have the drama, but it also has humor and fun! Jerry O’Connell and Jim Belushi are such great actors, and like another comment said – have great chemistry together on this show. The support characters who play the rest of the team – Zoey, Lisa and Tony – are just as… Read more »