Tonight marks the last episode of The Event for 2010. NBC plans to relaunch the series in three months, on February 28th, after letting their new series The Cape have the timeslot. Is it a risky move? Not really. Ultimately, they don’t have much choice.
The Event follows Sean Walker (Jason Ritter), a young man who’s investigating the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend. He slowly begins to uncover the biggest cover-up in the history of the United States. Others in the cast include Sarah Roemer, Laura Innes, Ian Anthony Dale, Scott Patterson, Clifton Collins Jr., Taylor Cole, Lisa Vidal, Bill Smitrovich, Zeljko Ivanek, and Blair Underwood.
The series debuted in September to decent ratings with a 3.6 in the 18-49 demo and 10.88 million total viewers. That’s a healthy sampling but, considering all of the promotion that NBC put behind it, the programmers were likely disappointed by its third place rank in the timeslot.
While some viewers clearly love the show, more than half who watched the first episode have already lost interest. The Event has been losing viewers, sometimes as much as 15 or 20% in one week, and to date has never shown an increase week-to-week in the demo. The most recent installment garnered just a 1.7 rating in the demo and 5.19 million viewers.
You can blame the network for not doing a better job of promoting The Event but clearly there’s a problem with the series when people who already watch don’t feel compelled to return week after week.
Will this February “relaunch” help? Based on recent TV history, the answer is no. Just look at V and FlashForward. People who were interested in The Event have either already tried it and stuck around or given up on it. Those who haven’t watched previously are very unlikely to give a try because they assume that they’ve missed too much backstory already. On top of that, when the show returns, the ratings will likely be lower than what they are now. By the time The Event returns in February, many casual fans will have already gotten involved with other shows.
The one thing that The Event has going for it is the fact that it’s on NBC. The peacock network continues to struggle and The Event is currently the fifth most-watched scripted program on the network. If things go as expected, it will drop much lower on the list next year. Still, with the exception of The CW, NBC is the only network that would consider giving this series more time. They’ll surely let all 22 episodes air.
The Event returns on Monday, February 28th and will have 12 more original episodes to air at that point. Will there be a second season? We’ll have to wait and see but hopefully the producers will plan ahead and not end the show without any resolution.
What do you think? Does The Event have a chance for survival? What could NBC do to save this show? Anything?
Image courtesy NBC.
I really love The Event. So much that I have made my own “Save The Event” website. If interrested, visit SaveTheEvent.blogspot.com to see what you can do to save The Event.
I really love this show, and the story line is very strong with strong characters. The writers are brilliant. I love the multiculturalism society it provides which will also appeal to a much broader and open-minded audience. It is intense and edge-of-your-seat action like 24….with science fiction elements and overtones – unlike any other show on the network or cable. It is finding it’s audience and we are here to stick with you if NBC keeps you and finds the right time-slot that will further grow your audience. The Event has all the makings of being around for a long… Read more »
I’m loving the show – keep it going!
I just went online because I heard a guy at work mention The EVENT will probably be cancelled. What the hell are they thinking? Why aren’t people watching this show? I loved 24 and Lost. To me this show is a cross between those two shows. I will be very disappointed if I have seen my last episode of The Event.
I LOVE THE SHOW ME AND MY HUSBAND WATCH IT EVERY MONDAY WE MISSED ONER EPISODE AND WE HAD TO HURRY AND CATCH IT ON DEMAND
Please please please keep the event. True, the show does need to start developing into something and some more “events” need to occur. The factvyhat the show has only had more weeks off than on does not help. The event has a lot of potential. We have enough losers on reality shows on tv. Keep the event!!!!
Excellent acting for TV and interesting plot. What kills the show are the commercials every 10 min. Not only do you lose the flow, you feel like throwing something at it. Last time I watched it on the internet and was a much more enjoyable and captivating experience.
I LOVE THE EVENT AND THAT’S COMING FROM A GUY WHO HATES MOST OF THE TRASH ON NETWORK TELEVISION. I THINK IT’S LOW RATINGS ARE DUE MOSTLY TO IT NOT BEING A “REALITY” SHOW AND REQUIRES A LOT OF THOUGHT AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL. NEED I SAY MORE?
I really like THE EVENT so naturally it will be cancelled! I cant even find many of my other favorites anymore. Just when it starts to get good they go on hiatus or the season ends after only a few months. Yeah people are gonna loose intrest! They are tired of being jerked around! If any network wants a series to get high ratings and keep them they need to creat a great show like THE EVENT and leave it on for the entire season (12 months). Do this and you will see the viewers and fans come and stick… Read more »
I Love this show. It is such a great concept, so well written and made. Please, please, keep it going NBC.
Love it, love it, love it! It is the first show other than 24 that I find myself having emotional reactions to the characters and stories instead of just watching it. Great actors and great story!
Keep it im on the second episode and i love it ! People just need to give it a chance all the flashbacks make sense if u keep watching 😀
It’s a brilliantly produced show, but there’s some really essential elements missing in the story. It’s premise is inherently sci-fi, but there is precious little sci-fi to help keep the brilliantly choregraphed characters from fulfilling the premise and just instead keep an incredibly complex chase scene moving. I’m a fan, and look forward to every episode, and am nearly always constantly disappointed. If it doesn’t build to a suitable climax to justify the hours I’ve invested, I’ll be throwing a brick at my television. And never watching another NBC series again.
They should do everything to keep this show. All that is on are more and more reality shows. They might appeal to younger people, but the older, more sophisticated viewer likes The Event, V, did love 24, but they just seem to cater to younger people these days,
Love the show. Ireally hope it sticks around…
Love the show! Last season I missed some shows and got very confused. So I went to NBC, The Event website and watched all the episodes from the beginning. (I imagine Netflix would have back episodes, too). Once I filled in what I was missing I was ready for the new season in February and have been enjoying it ever since!