Going into the fall season, CBS’ Vegas series was one of the new TV shows with the most buzz. Many people were expecting it to be one of the hits of the season. Has it measured up? Should it be cancelled or renewed for a second season?
Airing on Tuesday nights, Vegas takes place in the Las Vegas of the 1960s and revolves around Sheriff Ralph Lamb (Dennis Quaid), a former rancher, and his clashes with Vincent Savino (Michael Chiklis), a Chicago mobster who moved west to set up his operation. Others in the cast include Carrie-Anne Moss, Taylor Handley, Sarah Jones, and Jason O’Mara.
The show debuted back on September 25th to a 2.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 14.85 million total viewers. While the viewership was strong, CBS was likely expecting a much better demo number — especially considering the show’s high-profile talent, positive reviews, and the show having a strong lead-in like NCIS: Los Angeles.
In week two, the ratings dropped 20%, to a 2.0 rating with 12.11 million. In week four, they dropped another 20%, to a 1.6 rating with 10.8 million.
The numbers have remained fairly steady since then and the 15 episodes that have aired thus far have averaged a 1.7 demo rating with 10.9 million viewers.
While that demo might be enough for a show on NBC, it’s not likely good enough for CBS. Right now, Vegas is one of the network’s lowest-rated weekday series in the demographic which advertisers favor. Vegas has a lot of total viewers but so do many other CBS shows.
Last season, Unforgettable occupied the same timeslot and performed better than Vegas — averaging a 2.3 demo rating and 11.3 million viewers. It was cancelled.
The network ended up making a deal with Sony TV to bring Unforgettable back for a short season this summer and both sides likely made some financial concessions to make that happen. Word is that most of the supporting castmembers have been dropped. A deal like that is not likely to happen with Vegas.
Unless the ratings start to climb, it doesn’t look very likely that Vegas will be back for a second season.
On the positive side, the series will be back on March 19th and there are seven new episodes yet to come.
What do you think? Do you think CBS should cancel Vegas to make way for a new show? Or, should they renew Quaid and company for a second season? If you were running the network, would you change anything try to attract higher ratings?
Please don’t cancel Vegas, this is one of the few shows on network television that is interesting and worth my time to watch. There is not much out there anymore. This show got me coming back each week. I don’t like the new Golden Boy that they want to replace Vegas with. Same old thing, nothing new. At least Vegas is set in another era and has a good story line. Who in the world at CBS is making such a stupid decision!!!!! Don’t loose me CBS. Where in the world did you get your numbers? Dumb, dumb, dump!!!!!!!!
Please do not cancel Vegas! My husband and I love this show – very disappointed that they are changing it from Tuesdays to Fridays although I also love Blue Bloods and it’s on Friday and I never miss it so whatever night it’s on I’ll watch it.
PLEASE don’t cancel it…..
WATCH EVERY WEEK I REALLY LIKE IT’;PLEASE GIVE IT A CHANCE
My wife and I have watched every episode since the show came on air! We have truly enjoyed the show and hope it will stay ! Why doesn’t Ralph Lamb and Carrie-Ann get a romantic episode or maybe 3 or 4 episodes!
Yes, it def should be cancelled. It’s boring and Quaid is one dimensional.
This is a great show so please don’t take it off. Every time I like a show it seems that it doesn’t last. This one is worth keeping around. I love the cast and the era.
Don’t cancle it!! We went to Vegas a lot in the 60″s , the Sands was one of the places we
always played at…ahhh those were the old glory days !
Please leave this show on Tv my husband and I have watched it ever since it came on.
Please..this and the good wife are the best shows…..my husband and I never miss Vegas …..why would you not give it a chance ?
This show deserves another season.No other show with the era it represents.GREAT CAST.GREAT WRITING.GREAT CHEMISTRY .
Great show. We watch it every week. The cast makes the show. Don’t cancel it. Give it at least one more season to pick up viewers.
This is my favorite series on TV. It really appeals to us 50s 60s folks.
Vegas is a solid show. It is one of the best new shows that CBS has had in a couple of years.
Golden Boy is crap. I do hope Vegas will be brought back for another year as it is really interesting to see Vegas in its “glory” days.
Please don’t take Vegas off. Your numbers don’t include us people in Canada. I am here to find out “what happened to Vegas on Tuesday night?’ I love the era that it is placed in. The story line is excellent. It keeps these 2 Cdn’s coming back.