There’s another casualty on network TV. CBS’ military drama, The Unit, has been cancelled after four seasons on the air.
The Unit revolves around an elite military unit and their civilian loved ones. The series features the talents of Dennis Haysbert, Regina Taylor, Audrey Marie Anderson, Robert Patrick, Max Martini, Abby Brammell, Michael Irby, Scott Foley, Demore Barnes, Alyssa Shafer, Danielle Hanratty, Kavita Patil, and Rebecca Pidgeon.
Created by acclaimed director and writer David Mamet, the series debuted in mid-season 2006. An average audience of 15.5 million viewers ensured a second season for the drama but year two didn’t go as well, attracting 11.1 million viewers. The show has continued to decline in the ensuing years and season four has averaged an audience of 9.67 million. Though the overall viewership isn’t too low, the series does skew older. The average age of The Unit’s viewership is about 55.
The series has been “on the bubble” for awhile and many took it as a bad sign when showrunner Shawn Ryan signed on to helm FOX’s Lie to Me. Ryan however maintained that he would continue on both shows if The Unit was renewed. He’d previously performed double duty while working concurrently on The Unit and The Shield.
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Like most of the networks’ actions these days, the decision to renew or cancel came down to finances. CBS had asked for all of its shows to reduce their budgets. The Unit is actually already cheaper to produce than it looks. Shot primarily in Southern California, it costs less than $3 million per episode to produce. That’s about half as expensive as other primetime dramas.
A couple weeks ago, Haysbert told the LA Times that he was unsure if he wanted the show to come back if it meant making too many creative and salary concessions. He said, “There are a number of factors that go into whether I want it back or not. It’s been a great ride and, if I don’t work with these people again, I’ll certainly play golf with them.”
In an age when the networks and studios have to watch every dollar, they’ve all been favoring renewing shows that are created by sister or in-house production companies. Since 20th Century Fox TV produces the show, the network wouldn’t benefit if the show went into syndication.
Prior to the cancellation news, Gary Newman, chairman of The Unit’s studio, said, “For the CBS viewer, this show is unique. The audience may not be huge, but there’s going to be enormous disappointment if it goes off and it’s replaced with one more procedural or forensics show.”
Image courtesy CBS.
Yep, no matter what CBS says, they have the power to control when a show is aired, and that can be the most important factor in a show’s success or demise. The Unit was a terrific show with terrific actors and actresses. It was cutting edge and cut from today’s headlines. I often found it difficult to wait until late Sunday evening to watch it. When you have the top-rated show like NCIS, the network will often put a new show behind it to get it going. CBS did The Unit no favors by putting it on Sunday. As in… Read more »
MY HUSBAND AND I LOVE THIS SHOW, AND WERE SO DISAPPOINTED TO HEAR THAT IT HAD BEEN CANCELLED. BUT YET, THEY LEAVE ON SUCH SHOWS AS, “THE MENTALIST,” “COPS”, AND OTHERS THAT ARE A TOTAL WASTE OF TIME AND FILM. PLEASE PLEASE BRING IT BACK!!!!!!!
The show should be on another night. Sunday night shows are usually late because of ball games. I had to dvr the 10-11 and then the 11-11:30 news and then the next one just to get the show.
I just started watching the unit, and I bought all three previous seasons on DVD to catch up. Love it, I just love it.
It simply doesn’t make sense to cancel such a successful show, not to mention too early.
Bring it back.
Viewer ship of this show was just fine when it came after NCIS. Put the Mentalist on Wednesday, that day could use some help. It is pretty chicken of CBS to move a show in a decent time slot that it good and fairly cutting edge , then screw it over by moving it to a time slot where very little survives and then have the nerve to blame the show. You think they would have learned from the debacle with STAR TREK.
This is very disappointing, those d—heads will probably replace it with another fake sucky reality show.
That really stinks!!!!
I just started watching this last season and it is a fantastic show.
I am retired military, and I DO NOT WATCH Reality shows because I think they are garbage television.
There are precious few shows that I do watch on network tv these days.
I guess the boomers no longer matter.
We’ll see, if we stop watching network tv altogether.
They really need to bring this show back, or another network pick it up.
The one show on tv with originality, CANCELLED???!!! The Unit and 24, the only true dramatic series that I enjoyed. All the “cop” show run the same recipe. Reality tv isn’t very real, I think some of it is scripted. I gues now I’ll catch up on some movies on Sunday night.
CBS has made another blunder. 🙁
I can’t believe this! It must have been too pro-military for CBS…we sure don’t want to offend anyone. It would be great for Fox to pick it up…
Big mistake…….CBS should reconsider or maybe another network should pick them up. Also, the Unit should have been shown on weeknight and not on Sunday at 10p.m. That would have increased viewership.
I am sad to see it canceled. I think it was a great service to our military. Gave some real insight to what goes on in special forces. SAVE THE UNIT!!!!!
My husband and I also have been avid viewers of The Unit. This was actually the only show on television that we both enjoyed, something we looked forward to watching together. To me this show was more typical of what military life is really like. The wives stayed home and kept things running on the home front, while the men went out to protect and serve our country(not saying that those roles are not sometimes reversed). The actors were also so believable. Well all I can say now is, The Unit was one of the best shows on TV and… Read more »
Please, please don’t cancel “The Unit” my husband and I enjoy watching it on Sunday evenings (actually anytime, thanks to TIVO and DVR’s). With all the reality shows running we have fewer choices on network channels. One of the problems with the viewer ship may have been the time slot. My sisters always asked me what time it came on. Thank God for our DVR however, others on a budget without a DVR may miss it. Please reconsider the cancellation it would be such a lost for TV.
My husband and I have been avid viewers of The Unit since it began. This is terrible news. The Unit is our favorite show. We hope it’s not replaced by some more of the dumb-down sitcoms or “reality” farces that are on the networks now. The Unit has action, substance and characters we admire and who pull at our hearts. It provides heroes–something not offered by most of what’s available on tv–who face some of the same challenges at home as many of the viewers. We like The Unit because it provides some hope by showing that there are some… Read more »
I discovered The Unit during Season 4. I just purchased season 2 because I am trying to catch up in prep for Season 5. I am really bummed. PLEASE BRING IT BACK.