the forgotten: Disappointing Ratings for Christian Slater; Cancel It or Keep It?

When Christian Slater’s TV series, My Own Worst Enemy, was cancelled last year it seemed a bit unlikely that the actor would return to the medium any time soon. Some film stars have made the journey to television in the past and, when the shows failed, they haven’t been too quick to return. But Slater hopped right back into the fray and has a new show for ABC, the forgotten. So, will this one stick around longer than the last one?

the forgotten revolves around a group of dedicated civilians that form The Forgotten Network. Led by Alex Donovan (Slater), the team donates its time to identify unrecognizable murder victims, trying to “give back the name of the deceased.” The show also stars Michelle Borth, Heather Stephens, Bob Stephenson, Anthony Carrigan, and Rochelle Aytes.

With a title that just invites snarky headlines, forgotten was skewered by many critics before the show even debuted. By and large, most viewers weren’t all that impressed either.

The series debuted on September 22nd to a decent 9.53 million viewers and a 2.6/7 rating/share among adults 18-49. While those numbers seem pretty good, upon closer examination, they aren’t all that positive.

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the forgotten’s lead-in, the very popular Dancing with the Stars, scored 16.28 million and a 3.9/10 in its last half hour. The first half hour of forgotten attracted only 10.14 million and a 2.7/7. That means that the Slater drama lost over 40% of its total lead-in audience and 33% in the demographic. What’s more, 12% of people who started watching forgotten turned it off half way through the premiere. That’s a sure sign that those people wouldn’t be back the next week.

And they didn’t return. In week two, the forgotten’s numbers dropped by more than 1.8 million viewers to 7.72 million. In the all-important demographic, the show’s ratings dropped from a 2.6/7 to a 2.0/5, a loss of 23%.

As of last night, things seem to have evened off a bit. For week three, forgotten attracted 7.81 million viewers and a 2.0/6. Though it’s positive that the ratings didn’t drop for a second time, these numbers are not healthy. forgotten ranked in a distant second place for total viewers (beating the under-performing Jay Leno Show) and third place for the demo (almost tying Leno).

Unless these numbers turn around, the forgotten’s days on the schedule are certainly numbered. ABC ordered 13 episodes to start and could pull the show or prematurely cut production. But, even if all 13 are finished and aired, it’s highly unlikely that ABC will order any more.

What do you think? Is this show worth watching or is it best left forgotten (sorry, too hard to resist)? Would you cancel it or keep it?