Three Rivers: CBS Officially Cancels Alex O’Loughlin Series, No Season Two

Last month, CBS pulled Three Rivers from the Sunday night schedule. Though the network would only say that the show was going on hiatus, most suspected that it had indeed been cancelled. We now know for sure.

Three Rivers follows a group of medical personnel in Pittsburgh who work in the fast-paced and emotionally-charged world of organ transplants. The series stars Alex O’Loughlin, Katherine Moennig, Daniel Henney, Justina Machado, Christopher Hanke, Amber Clayton, and Alfre Woodard.

The series got off to a slow start in the ratings and viewership got worse as the weeks wore on. The writing was on the wall when CBS decided against ordering any additional episodes beyond the initial 13.

In early December, Three Rivers was pulled from the schedule but the network has declined to call it a cancellation — until now.

Will CBS air the rest of Three Rivers? Yes, I think so. No, I doubt it. View Results  Loading ...

At the current Television Critics Association’s press tour, CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler confirmed to attendees that the show is indeed over. She said, “You know what, yes. We’ve all known each other long enough to know, when something is on hiatus it’s code for something else.”

Though the ratings weren’t very good, Tassler feels positively about the impact that the series has had. She said, “The reality is, it’s not too often that you get mail that lets you know as a network that eight lives were saved as a result of the organ donation that people become aware of because of that show.”

Tassler continued, “And every show takes its time in finding its legs — some shows take longer than others- – but I think at the end of the day knowing that the fact that that show was on the air and had that kind of impact is pretty extraordinary.”

Unfortunately, there’s no word yet as to when or if the five unaired episodes of Three Rivers will be shown.

What do you think? Will CBS run the unaired episodes or will we have to wait until the series is (hopefully someday) released on DVD?