NBC recently debuted one of their new Summer shows, The Listener. With lots of negative reviews, how did the first episodes perform in the ratings? Is the show worth keeping or should the network listen to critics and cancel it?
The Listener is a Canadian drama that revolves around a young paramedic (Craig Olejnik) who has the ability to listen to people’s inner thoughts. He tries to help those in need while trying to figure out his own place in the world. Others in the cast include Ennis Esmer, Colm Feore, Lisa Marcos, Mylene Robic, Anthony Lemke, John Fleming, Lara jean Chorostecki, Arnold Pinnock, and Paulino Nunes.
The show has already run in several countries around the world and began airing in the US on June 4th. NBC aired the first episode at 9pm and it ranked in fourth place for the timeslot, attracting just 5.25 million viewers and a 1.5/4 rating/share in the 18-49 demographic. The 10pm episode garnered a few more viewers (5.34 million) but lost a bit in the demo (1.4/4).
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Many critics crucified the series and even fellow NBC employee Greg Grunberg may not be crazy about it either. The actor, who plays a mindreader on Heroes, tweeted, “New ‘original’ NBC show about a guy who can hear thoughts… called, uh…The Listener? Uh, no wait, I know this. BRAIN FART!! Genius!!” On Tuesday, he retweeted a fan’s note that said, “wht is ths ‘The Listener’ crap. thr’s alrdy a show abt a mindreader on tv, its called heroes, & @greggrunberg is all we need.”
The peacock network can’t be pleased with Listener’s lackluster performance, even for a Summer series. If NBC was footing the bill exclusively, the show would certainly not be back for another season. But, because the network is simply purchasing the broadcast rights from Canada’s CTV, the show’s much less expensive for them. If CTV decides to produce another season, it might make some sense for NBC to pick it up.
What do you think? Is the show work watching or should it be cancelled already?
Image courtesy CTV.
GREAT SHOW AND GREAT CAST. PLEASE KEEP IT. WOULD LOVE TO SEE MANY MORE EPISODES.
Love the Listener. Please keep it. I don’t like Heros, but this show is great. In fact when it was knocked off last week because of Michael Jackson special, I watched it online.
The Listener is the one good show (other than Merlin) which I have actually spent my summer evening watching! It should be kept on the air for as long as possible.
The plot is well thought out, it has great character development, and most importantly of all, it has a ‘heart’ to it which comes from the likeable hero. Please keep quality shows like this on the air…my whole family enjoys it.
The Listener is a great show.. And you can’t cancel it..
I’m sitting in a small country in europe , and have seen all episodes and love this show . And i would love to see more.. So f****ck the critics and make some more episode..
Love it.. Keep it.. 🙂
Take care – Lene From Denmark.
I enjoy watching The Listener. Keep It Please. Plus one bloger has said the Heros has too many plots. And hard to keep up with. I agree. You need a show that it is easy to follow not something that jumps around like a bunny. And I wish that U.S. networks give a show a chance. At least 2 to 3 seasons. Plus we Canadians have a lot to offer in television and the arts. ROCK ON CANADA ROCK ON.
Take care from MISS BEAD
We don’t watch much tv except for medium, lost, ghost whisper, hells kitchen & now cancelled eli stone, so we like it and it fits into the type of shows we like to watch. So keep it going. thanks.
Keep this shows. Any tv series will have the same power. Like anyone can be superman, but the point here, the story plot and drama is the real deal. So what if the listener is a common telepathy guy, but what really make it goes round is the drama, the problems and the unique story line. The attention here is that, this tv series are worth to watch.. the story line is unpredictable and it excite the viewers like me. It is still new, I’m sure the creative ideas will bring the series to be more lively and adventures theme.… Read more »
I had trouble getting into for the first couple episodes, but now I am in love with the show. You can’t cancel it ! Give it a chance !
Please keep this show on air. im from canada and im sick and tired of being bombarded with american tv shows,,,american this and that…and for ONCE this is a canadian tv series with canadian actors and filmed in canada and they arent trying to hide the fact its canadian unlike the usual american production flimed in canada trying to pass it off as just another american city, canada doesnt get alot of film/movie credit in my opinion. and to be honest tho im not a big fan of much canadian tv shows ,,,,but god i think its great and itd… Read more »
I like this show and I would like to see how they develop this Toby character. I tried to watch Heroes but just did not have the time to keep up with all those people and their powers. To me, Heroes just has to many plot lines and cannot develop them all in a seamless fashion whereas The Listener has only one person to develop and can develop them more coherently/fully.
Of course, since I like this show and network execs cancel every show that I like, I will just have yet another reason not to watch TV.
This show is way cool why would you want to cancel it.
i’ve watched all the episodes lol and the guys looks like a bum on the street. when serious stuff begins he runs away knows no type of self defense which by the way would make the show more interesting and a paramedic with a rocky relationship with a doctor? c’mon who wrote this script…the only good thing outta that show is the guy who plays his boss and the cop
Please keep this show! The main character is likeable and seems easy to relate to. At LEAST give it one season to see how it pans out! 😀
I really like The Listener. It’s kind of refreshing after watching every season of Heroes where there are so many different characters and stories to follow. It’s nice to see the “gift” aspect of The Listener and not be overwhelmed by how many “gifts” there are.
Also, Craig Olejnik is pretty damn attractive and I think that watching him is reason enough to keep the show on the air.
I really enjoy this show. I have never watched Heroes because I wasn’t really into it. But I definitely like this show. Also, I don’t see enough shows that are filmed in Canada, especially Toronto. It’s really nice to see a good show filmed where I walk by almost every single day. This show is really great and had grabbed my attention. My mom wasn’t into it at first but after the first few episodes she really started to enjoy it. Please give this show a chance and make it come back for a second Season. Thank you 🙂