Despite being NBC’s lowest-rated scripted series on the weekday schedule, the network has ordered four more scripts for Undercovers, their new action series.
Starring Boris Kodjoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mekia Cox, Carter MacIntyre, Gerald McRaney, and Ben Schwartz, Undercovers debuted on NBC to a disappointing 2.1 rating in the target 18-49 demographic and 8.7 million total viewers.
In week two, the demo plummeted to a 1.6, a drop of 24%. The ratings have kept falling since then and hit a low of a 1.4 rating last week. It tied for fourth and last place in the timeslot with The CW’s America’s Next Top Model. When a major network ties with a show on The CW, you know they’re in some serious trouble.
Despite all of that, NBC appears to be interested in ordering four more installments beyond the initial 13 episode order. The network is supposedly happy with the show creatively but unfortunately, with low ratings, that doesn’t translate into much ad revenue.
Regardless of whether NBC orders additional scripts or episodes, it looks certain that Undercovers is living on borrowed time.
What do you think? Why isn’t Undercovers performing better? What would you change about it or should it just be cancelled?
Image courtesy NBC.
I am loving the show and hope NBC gives the show a chance. For the people who cannot stand that the main characters are African American, successful, beautiful, and happily married get over it. The show is great!
I don’t give a rat’s ass what colour they are, but for anyone who has ever watched a single frame of “Alias”, this show just brings a tear to the eye. “Undercovers” is an empty vessel that belongs to another era with fluff like “Murder She Wrote” and “Simon & Simon” (I threw that in for Gerald McRaney).
This is a spy show for grannies. It’s the “Golden Girls” of spy shows.
I like it, but it’s becoming too routine, almost predictable.
I’d like for them to bring the crazy German guy who loves jellybeans back, presuming he gets well enough. I thought his character was interesting, moreso than Hoyt.
It’s a really well produced show, but the two central characters are poison. They have no distinct personalities, they have no real conflict, and their attitudes on any given subject are non-existent. The show is fairly compared to Hart To Hart, and I think that’s exactly the problem. The Harts had the same sort of bloodless sunshine-and-roses relationship that was tolerable to audiences back then (********, but tolerable) and insufferably false now to all but the very least discriminating viewers.
It’s boring because it’s not serious. It should have been hardcore like the new james bond. Honestly no one wants to see black people in a cutesy series that’s not a comedy. That’s just the truth. More Samuel L. Jackson less Martin Lawrence. More Jada Pinkett Smith less whatever Martin’s TV wifes name was. Get serious with it and they would have had a serious hit. As it is it won’t last half a season and it shouldn’t it sucks as it is!!!!!
I love this show! Don’t cancel!
I am enjoying this show. It’s well thought out and well written, but even so it is missing a little something; not quite sure what. I too, was a fan of Jericho and Moonlight as well as October Road. It doesn’t make sense (dollar sense either) to cancel these programs without an opportunity to develop characters and gain audiences who are/can be loyal. Currently, I am missing Human Target and dreading it’s “new” format because it was perfect. I am VERY happy that it seems that NBC will actually give this show a real chance. There are black people who… Read more »
I think it’s delightful. Light entertainment, fun.
I clicked on this site because of the rumor Undercovers is in trouble. I don’t usually post, but what I read here amazed me. My husband and I like this show. It is fun and entertaining. Our taste in shows runs the gamut from House to The King of Queens (oh, and HGTV!) We like movies from Airplane to The Hurt Locker. We do not pigeon-hole our taste in entertainment nor do we pigeon-hole an actor because of his or her color. The show is apparently posting some low ratings and that certainly signifies a problem. But the race of… Read more »
Response to Greg – Get real. Affirmative Action has nothing to do with this but you’ve proven my earlier point entirely. You are viewing it as a ‘black show’ and not just a questionable choice for network support. I have seen lots of my favorite shows cancelled because of low ratings (Jericho, Moonlight) and wonder why crap like a zillion CSI and Law& Order shows, ABC “comedies” and all of those ‘Bachelor\Bachelorette’ shows are still on the air. None of those had to do with race, some of them have lousy ratings but the networks continue to support them. So… Read more »
I think it is a good show, in the same vein as “Hart to Hart’ and ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’. I believe the premise is good and I think it would have higher ratings if the main characters were not African-American. I think that many non-black viewers see the commercials, say “Oh, that’s a black show”, and don’t even watch it because they assume the content will only appeal to other blacks. Sad to say, there are still an awful lot of people out there that do not want to see a good-looking, articulate, well-to-do black couple who appear to… Read more »
This show is just a flop. Overacted, then corny, then back to overacting and unrealistic situations.
It should have died long ago, but hey – what’s Affirmative Action for if not to keep crap shows alive when regular shows with better ratings fall all around them?
That’s fair, right?
Geesh.
Your comments are right on target! I gave the show a chance to be taken seriously but the only things that were missing from this farce were the pop up exclamations of “Pow,” Bang” etc. from the old Batman series. “Sexpionage?” Are you serious – the last thing I want to see at 8pm in the evening, is a bare chested American Negro climbing into bed with his girlfriend. Cancel this pathetic trash.
I watch Undercovers but I think the problem with it is that there is already so many spys shows on TV, including Chuck and Covert Affairs and probably some more I can’t think of at the moment. I mean, if people watch Chuck and CA they might not want to watch Undercovers just because they are sick of the spy genera.
I like all of the stars, especially GERALD MCRANEY.
The stories are pretty much fluff and I usually watch dramas like [H]OUSE.
I started to watch b/c McRaney was in it.
Maybe give us more McRaney. He is so funny!! Such a great actor!!
I think the show is awesome. The primary characters are continuing to grow and the storylines are improving on every episode. Most audiences are not used to seeing African American leads or for the cases of Boris and Gugu both of Afro European decent. Audiences worldwide will appreciate the diversity of the characters and the excitement that the show brings each episode. NBC is doing an excellent job in keeping the show on the networks as the series continues to improve on each episode. This show definitely one to watch…
Here’s the thing with Undercovers. Surprisingly, I have ended up liking it better than I expected I would. The problem with the premise is, with a husband and wife spy team you eliminate a lot of story potential. I mean, from all appearances, they are happily married. So no affairs or romantic entanglements for either character. No real liklihood that either will do anything that could break them up. In most series there is one main character that we have to like and identify with. Here, we have two heroes that aren’t going to do anything to alienate the audience.… Read more »