ABC continues to try to replace some of their aging hour-long TV series. Once Upon a Time will be renewed but how about The River? Cancelled after one short season?
The River revolves around the search for beloved TV host and explorer Doctor Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood) some six months after he and his team went missing down the Amazon. His wife, son, their crew and a documentary team go after them on a rescue mission. As you might expect, they find more than they expected and the trip is fraught with danger. The cast includes Joe Anderson, Leslie Hope, Eloise Mumford, Paul Blackthorne, Thomas Kretschmann, Daniel Zacapa, Shaun Parkes, and Paulina Gaitan.
The paranormal/horror series got a double-episode launch on Tuesday, February 7th. The first hour averaged a 2.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 8.35 million total viewers. The second hour drew a 2.3 demo rating with 6.83 million. Those demo numbers were better than what Body of Proof’s been getting but were still disappointing.
Looking at the half-hour breakdowns, you can see that the ratings steadily declined as the two hours progressed. Between the first half hour and the last, The River lost 15% in the demo and 26% in total viewership. That certainly wasn’t a good indication that those people would return for week two.
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And, they didn’t. For the third episode, The River’s demo fell a whopping 26% with a 1.7 rating with 4.96 million. Several shows also saw declines that night but The River was easily the biggest loser of the evening.
After just three installments, The River averages a 2.0 in the coveted demo and 5.9 million viewers. It ranks 12th on the list of ABC scripted shows for this season, just above already-cancelled sitcom Man Up!. The River also receives a “D+” on the ABC network report card. Unless the next episode attracts at least a 2.0 rating, the season average and grade will drop even further.
Based on this early performance, it looks certain that The River will be cancelled after one season. The network only ordered eight episodes so there are only five produced installments remaining. The last is expected to air on March 20th. Given that this is an ongoing mystery series, it seems highly unlikely that the story will be wrapped up by the finale.
But, what do you think? Have you been enjoying The River? Do you think it deserves to be cancelled or get a renewal for season two? Cancel or keep it?
Image courtesy ABC.
personally i say keep it. The River season 1 is only 8 episodes which to me is not enough to know if it will be good so i say give it a second season
Total **** of a show. My 12 year old daughter and I laughed our way through the first three episodes. Total shame as we were both looking forward to some suspense and instead were treated to 120 minutes of comedy. Who writes these things anyway? Hard for me to believe that it is so hard to write a compelling story and the fallback is to try to get attention with gimmicky camera work and lame effects. My daughter and I will just have to stick with Ice Road Truckers until someone with half a brain comes up with something better.
Enjoy the show immensely… Third viewing! Give it a chance. It will develop an audience…
Who cares. Does anyone really get invested in TV series anymore? I mean we don’t want to waste their time if a good series is cancelled. Sure I understand it is a business but whats comes first. Ever since Jericho tv has just gone down the tubes. (Sorry for the pun). Anyway I record series and if they get renewed then I may consider watching them anymore. I don’t want to get in to a series when a series is cancelled and I thought it was good. People must feel the same way. There are only 1 million channels to… Read more »
The early episodes of The River have been excellent. But I have notice that mystery shows (except, maybe, the worn-out cop-show variety), especially those that challenge its viewers to think, don’t do well in the ratings. America has an increasingly low-quality audience, and high-quality shows (those that require a working brain if one is going to enjoy them) put them off. This trend — toward know-nothing, think-nothing audiences — seems to be responsible for the success of the very worst type of programming, namely the reality shows. “Ice-Road Truckers”? Ugh!
Right on point! However, I’ll take Ice Road Truckers ANY day over The Bachelor(ette), Biggest Loser, Big Brother, Fear Factor, and all the other similar reality drivel that passes for “entertainment” for brain-dead audiences these days!
Do all of us a favor and cancel the series. Such a waste of good actors.
I tried it and watched it with my daughter cause she likes those Paranormal Activity movies but it just does work for either of us. Its just not creepy. The whole point of those movies success is the tension build up over 1.5 hours. There is no tension build up here cause 1) Comercial breaks ruin the tension. 2) You know they will live cause there is another episode next week. It just doesnt work as series. And I agree, the mom is annoying. But seriously, how do you go through all that and the next day laugh and smile… Read more »
They put this show against a show that is always top 10 and that has an even better lead in show ahead of it. Is anything showing well against the NCIS juggernaut? I had to jiggle the DVR schedule so I could watch the River and record NCIS LA. Others may not be as inclined on a midseason replacement and that would be too bad. Before ABC drops it entirely they should try moving it to a different time slot. I like this show and feel it has a lot of potential. I too want to see more of Mr.… Read more »
Keep Once Upon a Time. I wasn’t sold on it at first but my husband and I really enjoy it now. The problem with the River is everything. The acting is not what you expect from the cast involved, the story is disjointed, and that camera work drives me nuts. It’s like Lost transplanted with no redeeming production value. In contrast, we are awaiting the return of Fallen Skies this summer. That is also a Speilberg vehicle that excites and entertains at the same time. The characters are people you can invest your time into because you care about what… Read more »
I’ve been enjoying The River and plan to watch ALL the episodes.
I would wish though that it was the father searching for the son instead of the other way around. Then we’d see MUCH MORE of Bruce Greenwood. He’s hardly on the show at all and that doesn’t sit well with me. He’s a wonderful actor and his name is first in the credits so you’d think he’d be featured much more.
Janice » That’s a compelling idea but I wonder if Greenwood would have agreed to have a bigger role. He may have signed on because it wasn’t such a big commitment.
The stories and characters are not interesting, the camera work is terrible and too stylized. I gave it 3 hours and it is off my viewing schedule.
Once Upon A Time is a terrible waste of a good cast. Its a very weak idea for a series.
With these low ratings, I don’t even bother watching. It is a waste to watch a serial show that will be cancelled before anything can be resolved.
we’re not connected enough to the characters to care about what happens to them… no story development besides a few flashback scenes… for a talented group of writers and directors, this is a mjor missfire… highly disappointing… could ahve been so much better…
Once Upon a Time should be cancelled but I don’t know if The River will too.
The story of the river is interesting enough, but the paranormal activity camera style really throws off the series. Not to mention the mother is really annoying.