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.
 Loading ... |
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.
The netowrks do this every time. We get an excellent show to watch and they make the decision to cancel it. How about another network picking it up like they did “JAG” a few years ago?
Oh my gosh! We’ve just finished watching Series 4 on Virgin 1 on UK satellite. We’re absolutely gutted that series 5 is not in the pipeline. We’ve been avid The Unit viewers since it hit UK screens. As for the ’55’ age limit. That cannot be true. I’m 27 and my partner is 45. We, and all of our friends love the show! Bring it back!
Comment by CBS is average age of viewer is over 55 and this a reason to cancel. Who the hell do you think has and spends the money these days?
U have got to be joking with that age group!!! First of all, CBS is geared toward an older crowd!! Second, the viewership of the show went down due to the time slot changes. U line a show up against football season, pay-per-view events, and golfing tounaments even. The inconsistency of the network and the irresponsible management of such a spectacular show is a travesty!!! Thank u cast and crew for your brilliant and hard work!!! I pray you get picked up by a more accomadating and appreciative network!!!!
Wow. This is a shame! Why air so many NCIS. Blah blah blah… They are never going to go into sindication either. Too commonplace. Same old stories. But THE UNIT, it;s unique and incredibly entertaining. This is a real heartbreaker. You say your average audience is 55. My son and his friends, college, watch[ed] it religiously. Me and the Mrs. too, 40 something. But beyond that, listen! The movie theaters and TV sets are getting much more viewing time these days. They’re both cheap forms of entertainment for the consumers and people are simply avoiding the more expensive forms of… Read more »
What the hell was CBS thinking. I am a 25 year old fireman and the unit was one of our favorite shows to watch at the station. Matter a fact I can’t think of one station that dident watch the unit. That was in the number one spot on my dvr. All I can say is I hope that they rethink that decision and start it up again.
What poor decision to revoke such a gripping presentation. I was hooked at age 22. Without a phenomenal show like The Unit a significant portion of my generation misses out on the yielded awareness for such military matters, not to mention its intellectually genuine entertainment value. Severe disappointment!
Had a feeling this was going to happen. CBS is stupid for doing this. I’m 33, and a vet of the U.S. Army and loved the show. My wife and I would let our 9 year old son, yes 9, not 55 like you think, stay up after his bed time so we could all watch it together. But instead of leaving it on you decide that we need another N.C.I.S, or better yet, why not just make a C.S.I. for every major city in the US, that should get ratings
I can cont believe that CBS cancelled the show! I got hooked on it while I was deployed to Iraq this past year, and could not wait until I got home to watch season 5. But it looks like I wil not have a chance unless another network picks it up. It would have been nice if they just gave it a less popular time instead of giving it up completely. Its not like there is another show similar to have to share viewers with.
Ridiculous! The best military show ever on tv and it get’s canned. Guess what the 55 year old that watches this show has more spending power then whatever the show that replaces it, going after some 25-35 year old crowd. Bad move. Makes me want to create a Show myself here in Wilmington NC. (not a bad idea)
This is the best show I have seen in a long while. Im a 24 fan and I think that the unit Is a much much better show then even 24. The 4 th seasson is great my playstation 3 is full with the 4th season you guy should have put it on a diffrent time slot and it would have been viewed more .Great JOB to the cast of the unit. thanks JIM -47,Kathy-46,Marcus-17
Well I cannot believe that the unit is not coming back! That was my favorite show. Like some previous posts my husband and I are both combat vets and we connected with this show. Now what are we going to watch, why not go back to war.
This is such crap. This is a great show and the reason why ratings droped was because when you changed to sundays noone knew and the time it came on was always wrong (late). This was abad choice for cbs. Bring it back.
CBS BAD MOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!!!! I’M TOTALLY DEVISTATED….. THIS SHOW HAS BEEN MY NUMBER 1 TO WATCH SINCE IT CAME ON. EVEN WITH ALL THE MOVING AROUND THEY DID WITH IT. BEING A VET MYSELF IT WAS VERY REWARDING SEEING THESE GUYS ON TV AND SHOWING THE PUBLIC SOME OF THE THINGS THAT OUR MILITARY IS CAPABLE OF DOING!!!! SHAME ON YOU CBS, HOPEFULLY ONE OF THE OTHER NETWORKS WILL PICK IT UP…OR, AFTER ONE OF YOUR NEW DUMBASS SHOWS FAIL YOU’LL BRING IT BACK….THANKS FOR THE GREAT WORK MEN AND WOMEN!!!!!