Steven Spielberg's time-travel drama Terra Nova has been cancelled after one season.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the expensive Fox series drew a 2.1 rating among adults aged 18-49 with an audience of 7.2 million -- matching the show's season low.
But don't sing the funeral blues yet -- 20th Century Fox TV has plans to shop Terra Nova to other networks, THR reports.
While most TV shows these days are accessible through online streaming (paid and illegal), DVR programs and the like, it seems that ratings are still prime when it comes to survival.
Since September, a number of star-studded (and over-marketed) shows have already gotten the axe, much earlier than anticipated. In January, Jonah Hill's animated Fox series Allen Gregory got the axe, as did the ABC sitcom Work It, which was in itself a midseason replacement for the short-lived series Man Up.
After three strong seasons, Hawthorne, Hung and Bored to Death were also cancelled by their respective networks. House, after eight seasons and endless hardware, will wrap things up this year.
Terra Nova's ratings and bad buzz weren't worth the show's hefty price, says pop culture/television blogger Manuel Betancourt of A Blog Next Door.
If anything, the two Fox shows ['Alcatraz' and 'Touch'] may make it now that 'Terra Nova' has been cancelled, he added.
According to the LA Times, the pilot for Terra Nova was not cheap, with Spielberg and company spending nearly $20 million on production.
As Terra Nova fans find their own midseason replacement for the dinosaur spectacle, here are five other TV shows that could also face the chopping block.
Were you a Terra Nova fan? Will you miss the show? What other shows do you think will get cancelled this season? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
NBC’s “Are You There Chelsea” has faced a tough crowd ever since its Jan. 11 debut on the Wednesday 8:30 p.m. timeslot.With reviews like “This is a funny idea of progress, but it is kind of progress all the same” (LA Times), “Next to the real thing, [Laura] Prepon’s Chelsea seems too conventionally pretty and eager to please” (NY Times) and “The show gets by as the vodka of television comedy. It aims to have no taste” (Slate), one can only wonder why NBC hasn’t pulled the plug.Warner Bros.While we can give “The River” a small break, considering it only premiered one month ago, the ABC drama hasn’t been making a lot of noise.Since its big debut to more than 7.5 million viewers, the show has dipped down to the world of 4 million (and going). Maybe the paranormal/found-footage stuff is better for the theater audience.DreamWorks TelevisionWhen NBC paired David E. Kelley with the great Kathy Bates, the network really had nothing to lose.But according to TV By the Number’s Bubble Watch, Harry’s Law could face cancellation any day now. Ratings have been steady, but compared to season one (which started with 11 million watching the pilot and 7.75 tuning in for the season finale), season two of “Harry’s Law” is barely holding on.NBCWas “Ringer” supposed to launch the great comeback of Sarah Michelle Gellar (times two)? Maybe.Has the show been scoring high ratings? Not really -- but the CW is a much small network than the usual big guns NBC, ABC and CBS. (Fun fact: CBS actually passed on buying the show before the CW picked it up).With “One Tree Hill” on its way out (after nine seasons), the CW might gamble on “Ringer” for one more season. But we’ll just have to wait and see.The CWWhitney Cummings is a funny person.But she lost some of that funny when she decided to hit the small screen. On the ratings front, numbers have jumped from 6.8 million viewers (season premiere), to 3.93 million viewers (episode 9), and back up to 4.11 million viewers (episode 17). While “Whitney” is the least likely to get axed of this list we’ve complied today, TV audiences should still have the show on its cancellation radar. NBC
