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.
BRING IT BACK – IT WAS ONE OF THE FEW SHOWS THAT ONE COULD
WATCH OTHER THAN TTHE STUPID STUPID STUPID REALITY SHOWS – WHO
WANTS THOSE BINMBOS AND NITWITS IN THEIR SO CALLED LIVES????? BRING
THE SHOW BACK ASAP !!!!!!!!
Don’t cancel ‘The Event’ , my children and I really enjoy watching it. Please bring it back!!! 🙂
I will boycott NBC if they cancel this show!!!!
This show is truly great. It should not be canceled. It may have many cliffhangers at the end of each show, but it keeps me watching it. Keep it on.
SAVE IT.
I find the series excellant and intriguing. I like it, but I can see how the flash backs to past can confuse the general audiance who miss an episode. The series is definately worth saving.
I’m really disappointed that NBC cannot keep “The Event” on a regular schedule. I have enjoyed watching it, and staying with NBC for “Chase”. Now, with both of them interrupted, I have to find other things to watch, including Netflix DVD’s. Too bad, the show was interesting and had promise.
My husband & I love the event we were so disappointed that it might be cancelled. I do agree about the jumping around being confusing. Please bring it back though!
I like the show but hate the whole rewinding in the middle of the show!
I love the series and wish it would continue on a regular basis. Feb. is to long to wait.
I really liked the show but, after doing research on my own, was disappointed to finally find out that the show was dropped. The network should have made some kind of announcement instead of leaving fans to wonder and look for the show or try to catch it on On Demand. I agree with another writer who noted you should give a show a chance or announce “last show until next season” or “season finale”. I sure hope the show will be back in Feb. 2011. It was one of the only shows I would watch on NBC or any… Read more »
GREAT SHOW! THE PROBLEM WITH THE SHOW IS THE NETWORK ITSELF!! PROBLEM (1) YOU WILL NOT GIVE A SHOW TIME TO BUILD LOYAL FAN BASE , (2) STOP, MOVING THE SHOW AROUND. WHETHER YOU KNOW IT NOT, SOME PEOPLE BUILD THIER LIVES AROUND SHOW THEY WATCH. iF YOU MOVE THE THEIR FAVORITE SHOW , THEY WILL LOSE INTEREST IN ANY OF OTHER ON YOUR NETWORK. (3) YOU MOVE THE SHOW TO COMPETE WITH ANOTHER SHOW ON ANOTHER NETWORK ALL WHILE YOU LOSING YOUR FAN BASE. (4)ON ONE HAND YOU CHASING DOLLARS AND LOOKING AT BOTTOM LINE AND NOT REMEMBERING IT’S… Read more »
The Event is a great program, however you need to stick with one phase of your program instead of flopping all over the place. The program is very good if I were directing this show I would set it up similar to 24. Event has the potential to be a winner, set up were your viewers can tie everything together, dont make it so complicated to follow. THE EVENT DESERVES TO BE SAVED.
For the true sci -fi enthusiast, THE EVENT ranks with X files, as far as I’m concerned.
The possible problem is that you have to watch it from the beggining, dont’t miss one episode,
and be ready to have your mind tested, as it flashes from the present-past-and if you’re really
good the future. I’ve enjoyed so much, but I the kind that likes to have my mind tested,and
see if I can figure out who is deceiving who.
SAVE ” THE EVENT ” thanks
I really enjoyed the event and even though at times I had to really stay focused on it I was not happy to have it cancelled. I want to see the ending and hope they will do that, the show is really interesting and it makes you wonder if we aren’t alone in this universe. Don’t cancel it, I will look forward to February to finish watching it.