Lifetime has decided to cancel their Sunday night drama, The Protector, after one season on the air. The decision doesn’t come as a surprise since the writing has been on the wall for awhile. While the Ally Walker series has some devoted fans, the ratings just weren’t high enough for a second season.
The Protector follows Gloria Sheppard (Walker), a single mother and detective in the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division. A recent divorcee and single mother, Gloria has to perform her duties as a homicide detective while taking care of her young sons, Nick (Sage Ryan) and Leo (Thomas Robinson). They all move in with her brother, Davey Sheppard (Chris Payne Gilbert), and he helps her raise the boys. At work, Gloria works on some of Los Angeles’ most high profile crimes with her partner, Detective Michelle Dulcett (Tisha Campbell-Martin). They work alongside officer Ramon “Romeo” Rush (Terrell Tilford), Detective Buerge (Larry Joe Campbell) and Detective Van Stone (James Hanlon), while being overseen by commanding officer Lieutenant Felix Valdez (Miguel Ferrer).
The drama debuted on Sunday June 12th to 1.89 million viewers and a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic. Viewership for the following episodes declined and the first six episodes averaged 1.37 million viewers and a 0.4 rating.
In August, Lifetime shifted The Protector to Monday nights at 10pm to make way for another new drama called Against the Wall. The first episode in that new Monday timeslot dropped to just 849,000 viewers with a 0.3 rating. The following week, Lifetime shifted Protector out of primetime to 11pm where the numbers (not surprisingly) dropped again to 600,000 viewers and a 0.2 rating in the demo.
Though there won’t be a second season for The Protector, Lifetime has indicated that they will air the two remaining installments, on September 12th and September 19th.
While The Protector has been cancelled, no decision has been made about the fate of Against the Wall. That freshman series has significantly improved on Protector’s ratings, despite a decline in Drop Dead Diva’s numbers.
What do you think? Will you miss The Protector? Was it worth watching? Should it have been cancelled or renewed for season two?
Image courtesy Lifetime.
I can not understand why a newer show pushes another show into a different time slot and then around so much that the original show gets basically lost… who can keep up with all the changes. I dont watch a lot of TV, but I loved The Protector. My DVR kept up with the time changes for me. But not everyone has a DVR. I am sure going to miss this show!!
Watched this show every week!! No notice it was being canceled. Ratings aren’t everything. If the powers that be didn’t keep fooling around with the time slot it might have been able to bring more viewers! They caused the show’s demise themselves! Not fair to us, the consumers, nor to those who put in very good performances. Please please bring it back!!!!
LOVED this show and never missed and episode. I am disapointed seems like everytime I find something good to watch they take it off air 🙁
I would like to pass on to the idiots that canceled my favorite show,’The Protector ‘; shame on YOU!! I adore Aly & I couldn’t wait for her show to come on. Then I had to keep checking where ya’ll had put her show. What is wrong w/h d powers that be.Is money all u care about? Had ya’ll left d show n d time slot it was in d rating would have grown!! Please BRING IT BACK! I HATE REALITY SHOWS!! THEY ARE AWfUl!! BRING MY ALY BACK!! HER SHOW WAS GREAT!!! Stop being money hungry r rating warts.… Read more »
I am so mad. I loved the show. The stories were so original. The three main actors were phenomenal. This show should be reinstated. Why did you continue to change it areound. No wonder it got canceled. It messed up my DVR a few times.
Deborah
I really liked this show and wish they wouldn’t cancel it. There are so few shows that Lifetime carries that actually peak my interest, since most of them are more “reality” non-sense, such as the show with Roseanne, Project Runway, etc. Although, I would really hope that Lifetime keeps the show “Against the Wall” In the beginning it had a little more sex and was aimed more towards the characters stories, but now I am dying to watch it every week. Keep “Against The Wall” at the very least since you’ve canceled “The Protector” but I’d like to see them… Read more »
=( no show on tonight, the 26th .. rip. ill def miss it!
I watched The Protector religiously when I could find it. Moving the nights and airing it at 11 p.m. on any night is not going to be good for any show. I thought I wouldn’t like it because there are so many cop shows, but I really enjoyed the characters and storylines. I’m very upset to find out it has been canceled; I didn’t even realize 9/19 was the season finale. Such a shame!
My husband and I never missed an episode. Who is it they ask when they’re figuring out the ratings? I’ve never been asked about cancelled shows I’ve loved, and obviously I haven’t been asked about the friggin’ reality shows, which are insultingly stupid and and reflect a society with neither taste nor morals.
I really liked The Protector and I’m very disappointed that it won’t be returning. Especially since my DVR timer was messed with and the whole thing was filled up with random nonsense shows while we were on vacation, so I didn’t get to see the last two episodes and am not likely to see a repeat if it’s not coming back! 🙁
I really liked this show, thought Amy Walker did a great job, fun to watch.
I will miss this show. Good quality shows seem to get cancelled while reality shows keep on coming. Go figure!!!
PLEASE DON’T CANCEL………THE REASON THE RATINGS ARE LOW IS BECAUSE YOU KEEP MOVING THE SHOW FROM ONE DAY TO ANOTHER, AND A DIFFERENT TIME. NO ONE CAN FIND IT…AND THEN SEE IT WAS ON BEFORE THEY REALIZED THE CHANGE. DON’T BLAME THE SHOW OR THE VIEWERS…BLAME YOURSELVES FOR JUGGLING THE NEW SHOWS AROUND…
It makes me so mad that the networks continue to cancel the new shows. I am done watching any new shows simply to avoid the disappointment of loving a show only to have it canceled after the first season. Has Lifetime and other networks thought maybe this is the reason for low ratings? Off the map, the defenfers, the whole truth, miami medical, s#$# my dad says, criminal minds:suspect behavior…the list goes on
THIS IS A GOOD SHOW. WE NEED GOOD SHOWS THAT ANYONE CAN WATCH. PLEASE DON’T CANCEL THIS SHOW.
PLEASE reconsider cancelling one of my favorite shows! Aly Walker is SO good…the reason the people drop off is BECAUSE YOU KEEP CHANGING THE DAY AND TIME, AND THEY CAN’T FIND IT!! Don’t blame them for low ratings, when you keep moving the show around!!