CBS’ Sunday night medical drama, Three Rivers, is destined to be cancelled here in the US but at least the show is still on the air.
The network hasn’t announced any plans to pull the Alex O’Loughlin series yet, perhaps in part due to the actor’s active fanbase from his days on Moonlight. Apparently people from the actor’s home land of Australia aren’t as sentimental. Three Rivers has already been cancelled there.
Three Rivers was pulled from the schedule of Australia’s TEN network after just one airing.
The premiere ran on a Wednesday night and attracted fewer than 500,000 viewers, putting it in fourth place for the timeslot. The show was replaced on the schedule by an NCIS repeat the following week.
TEN has yet to indicate any interest in returning Three Rivers to the schedule.
What do you think? Why isn’t this show working? Bad storylines, poor acting, a flawed premise, or something else?
ER was one of a kind and had the driving force of originator Michael Crichton and John Wells behind it. Now, there are too many pedestrian cop and medical shows, which is why so many are withering before they get started. Three Rivers, Hawthorne and Trauma are NOT as good as ER or Grey’s Anatomy, and Southland isn’t another Third Watch, Homicide, Boomtown, or NYPD Blue. It’s not that these newer shows are bad, it’s that they’re not that great, either — they’re not particularly compelling, and you don’t feel like you’re missing all that much by not seeing them.… Read more »
I don ‘t particularly like hospital drama shows not since ER was cancelled and I don’t think the show is all that great.I would think the vampire series Moonlight would have done bettter especially since all the hype over twilight.
I agree with Mark. Cancel it and bring back Moonlight. Much better show.
Three Rivers is actually the best of the influx of new medical dramas this season. (Mercy is absolutely horrible, IMHO.) Thus far the acting is quite good and the scripts have been compelling and will only get better as the show matures. Football season is the reason people haven’t found this show–plus there is way too much competition on Sunday nights. Should be moved to another night.
Ouch! Looks like people reaaally liked Vampire shows as Moonlight and not just Alex. Only a few old ladies are watching this lame show.
Who ever wrote this crap was having a bad day.
Poor Alex , he looks really bad in here . And he was great as Mick.
I only watched about 30 minutes of one episode, but what I saw was so pat…so contrived…so “this is the part where you’re supposed to tear up and realize the caring doctor’s are self-sacrificing demigods” it was mind-numbing. And how many hospital shows are going to give us the doctors-unwinding-on-the-roof-of-the-hospital-after-a-tough-day scene? Cripes!
Should they cancel it? Who cares? This and other shows like it are why the Big Four networks are losing viewers in massive droves to the cable channels. TNT and USA are kicking them in the teeth on a regular basis.
No one can even see this show. I would love to be able to see it, but everytime I think that it is going to be on, it isn’t due to football running long. Every week this show is on later and later. They need to move it to a time slot where people can actually have a chance of seeing it!
I too am Australian who believes that Ten were brutal with the premature cancelling of Three Rivers. As with most NEW shows (not spin-offs) they need a few eps to get enough back story and character development happening. Three Rivers has an ORIGINAL plot, not the standard medical drama that we are flooded with on TV. It seems that unless you fall into the routine medical or crime drama scenario, you are damned before given a fair chance to shine. Three Rivers is guilty of one thing – being original. Reviewers, viewers worldwide and the Ten Network in Australia need… Read more »
As an Australian who was looking forward to watching ALL of Three Rivers on Ten, I am so disgusted that they didn’t give the show a ‘fair go’. How Ten could just pull the plug after just one fantastic episode has me so angry. I am at a loss for words!
Sorry Lucia , but I don’t agree with your post . Cold Case was averaging close to 11.5 million viewers in the same slot , so… The problem with this show is was TV critics already said ,the premise is boring and total depressing. The story is predictable . After 3 episodes I really don’t care for any of the characters. I did watched Moonlight , but never just because of O’Loughlin, I watched it because I loved the story and the whole cast.. I just cannot watch a show if I don’t care about the story and/or the characters.
I am very much enjoying Three Rivers. It actually is a smart MEDICAL show, not a snarkfest or a bed-hopping event or an adrenalin junky high. Those types of shows have their audiences, let Three Rivers find its place.
Several co-workers are interested in this show as well but have been unable to find it/DVR it due to the football overruns.
The cast is exceptional and needs a bit more time to “gel.” It seems that everyone needs instant gratification these days. What happened to giving a venue some time to capture an audience?
I live in Australia and I’m an Alex fan. I loved Moonlight and tuned into Three Rivers to watch Alex. I can’t believe that the TEN Network has cancelled 3R already! We Aussie Moonlight fans thought the NINE Network in Australia was bad after they cancelled Moonlight after just 8 eps… but TEN really takes the cake with this… how can you cancel a tv show after one episode, you have to at least give it a chance to gain an audience! I’ll keep downloading the eps as they air in the USA, Three Rivers is getting better, but I… Read more »
cancell, too many hospital dramas now
bring back Moonlight
Don’t Forget about Animation Domination with Family Guy & American Dad. Those have a huge fanbase that would never switch the channel to Three Rivers
It isn’t doing well because it is up against CBS football running very late and making it hard for people to watch when they have to work the next day. NBC’s Sunday Night Football and Desperate Housewives already have their audiences built up and are also in direct competition with Three Rivers.
It needs a time slot where people can find it and see it. Then it will grow.