NBC is pulling the plug on Kings airings on Sunday night, opting instead to air Dateline. Kings episodes will be burned off on Saturday nights at 8pm beginning April 18. Given the numbers, which were already not good, and on the trend of getting worse, it’s hardly a surprise.
From James Hibberd:
Sunday’s Kings episode was seen by 3.6 million viewers and received a 1.1 rating among adults 18-49. Yet Dateline had a 1.5 rating in its half hour leading into Kings. NBC suspects an expanded Dateline will provide a better lead-in for 9 p.m.’s Celebrity Apprentice, which has seen some audience erosion in recent weeks that might be attributed to Kings.
Well that’s a $60 million disaster.
Surely someone has to fall on the sword for this?
I don’t know why they’re not pleased with their ratings. After all, didn’t Kings give Rocky III and Jericho a beatdown on Sunday?
I love this show, too bad people nowadays have horrible taste and would rather watch reality show garbage.
I never watched Kings, but I do agree with Wayne. I would have rather seen a scripted show make it than some lame “reality” tv show. I can’t believe people watch that garbage.
I have a feeling the same people who pitched KINGS to the suits sold them on COP ROCK.
I truly like the show. Hopefully it will do better on Saturday night because there is nothing worthwhile on Saturday night anyway.
I do agree with you Wayne E. that people are hung up on “no brainer” reality shows garbage.
I watched Kings, but was not impressed. While I liked the imaginative concept I found the execusion to be dissapointing and well…kind of dull. Unfortunately the show couldn’t hold my attention for more than a good 20 minutes. I just didn’t care about any of the characters. I mean, the King is evil…I get it. David is a good guy…I get it…but I just didn’t care.
doug and wayne need to quit whining. While it is a good show, it is in no way the amazing show they are tyring to make it out to be. Quit crying when people dont watch a show you like.
I agree Wayne. There is no accounting for taste in today’s TV landscape. I think this show would have had more success on cable. It’s the best show on TV that nobody is watching (with kudos to Damages as well). It’s a great story and it’s visually stunning. Buuuutttt…..NBC can’t have it’s killing other shows.
“doug and wayne need to quit whining. While it is a good show, it is in no way the amazing show they are tyring to make it out to be. Quit crying when people dont watch a show you like”
Listen clown I was not “crying”. I was stating a fact that people nowadays are dumber and watch crappy reality shows. I don’t watch House or Grey’s anatomy but I have no problem with people watching those shows because they are actually proper shows, not some “reality” tv trash.
Pity. Love the show.
” watched Kings, but was not impressed. While I liked the imaginative concept I found the execusion to be dissapointing and well…kind of dull. Unfortunately the show couldn’t hold my attention for more than a good 20 minutes. I just didn’t care about any of the characters. I mean, the King is evil…I get it. David is a good guy…I get it…but I just didn’t care”.
Uh Jenna, the show is based on the story of David from the bible, except that the show has the story take place in an alternate present rather than the past. The king isn’ evil…. he’s complex.
Not a great show but still fun to watch. And Jenna the show is based nearly completely on a story from the bible, read the story, you will probably enjoy it.
That sucks for NBC, they better hope that Southland is a success. I tried to watch Kings, but it just did not hold my interest. Interesting concept, but poorly executed.
A ratings point*, a ratings point, my kingdom for a ratings point!
* or two.
What must NBC be thinking at this point?
Here is what we know they are going over…
-The best success they have ratings wise is a reality show about weight loss, an aged but steady reality show from Trump and a lower but steady rating for shows from it’s long running L and O franchise. THAT’S IT.
-It has a cult sci fi show that has been bleeding ratings but does ok in the demo and works well overseas and in DVD sales. It has a spy comedy/drama that has lots of loyal fans but suffers from a tough time slot and the probablility that it will not have much further growth.
-It has two solid comedies on Thu nights but not much else as far as comedy.
-It has a promising new show in Southland that they are banking really hard on it doing well. Plus in September it has 5 less hours a week to program
NBC’s reaction?
Stick with what is working. REALITY REALITY REALITY. More hours of The Biggest Loser, More Celebrity Apprentice and keep the L and O shows on the schedule(even if you may be losing your two stars of one of them…see SVU). Keep the two comedies that work. Keep Chuck to help please one of the few shows on the network that has a loyal following.
Pray that some of these new pilots are going to be hits because more than ever they need a few. This is a make or break year. If they do not prodcue a big hit the NBC we know may be a distant memory come 2011.
Bill,
I think you’re confusing the Bible with Shakespeare
New shows just can’t win anymore…
I would like to know if anybody has made a list of all the shows that were cancelled within a season or 2 since the year 2000.
The number must be in the 100’s.
Yikes…NBC is in some deep shit. Kings was a total bust (and while I hate the fact that reality shows are doing 10 times better and I like Kings, NBC was right to move it to Saturday), and I might be wrong, but this new show Southland that they really seem to be banking on doesn’t really seem like it will be a ratings powerhouse and might just bomb as hard as Kings has.
Ruth says:
“‘doug and wayne need to quit whining. While it is a good show, it is in no way the amazing show they are tyring to make it out to be. Quit crying when people dont watch a show you like’
“Listen clown I was not ‘crying’. I was stating a fact that people nowadays are dumber and watch crappy reality shows.”
I remember back in the olden days when people were smart enough to keep sock-puppetry straight. Is Ruth doug, wayne, or both?
DAMN IT
Here’s a question- will Kings be listed as cancelled in the Renew/Cancel Index?
I’m not sure I agree with the sentiment that Kings is a phenomenal television show. I’ve stuck with it so far primarily in the hope that it would deliver on its potential but it hasn’t. The story and the general scope of the show are both potentially incredible but the creative team behind it don’t seem to have grasped the best way to present and develop it. Kings just lacks that spark of excitement.
“Here’s a question- will Kings be listed as cancelled in the Renew/Cancel Index?”
It hasn’t officially been cancelled (although for all intensive purposes it is) so I wouldn’t have thought so.
will Kings be airing on the 12th? or is the next new episode the 18th?
But this past Sunday’s episode is number one on iTunes for TV shows. Surely that means the show is more popular than Grey’s Anatomy, House, and American Idol.
Alex, they are presenting Kings as closely to the original story as they can, occationally they will spice things up but they don’t want to go overboard and completely side track from the source material.
I’m sorry but how is bashing reality tv watchers and telling people to watch good shows considered whining or crying ? It’s just the truth. Most reality shows are terrible- except the Amazing race.
Alex S, you can find lists of canceled shows from 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 on TVIV.org. There will be well over 100, since just from 2007-2008 I counted at least 50. But that’s not a new trend or anything.
Not again. Alex, “(to or for) all intensive purposes” is a mondegreen. The phrase is “all intents and purposes,” attested originally to 1546 and shortened to its current form in 1709.
How in the hell does Ben Silverman still have a job?!?!?!?! Embarrassment after embarrassment
Good lord, how the mighty have fallen
And yes, we misspelled the name of our own department, but we’re sleep-deprived.
Good point about Ben Silverman, So Cal. I think I’m going to call for his and Zucker’s firings in every new post like this from now on.
Rory Kings is a network television show not an infomercial for the bible, its key agenda shouldn’t be an accurate representation of a biblical story but to create an entertaining and engaging television show and on that level they’ve failed dramatically. From what I can remember of the promotional material for the show it was described as a ‘high class soap opera’ (I can absolutely remember Ian McShane using that term or something very similar whilst promoting the show) and that’s what it should be but not what it is.
Can I also add that fans of (failing) scripted shows endlessly attacking reality shows for being ‘dumb’ or ‘garbage’ often comes across as sour grapes crying. Reality TV isn’t the work of the devil and it does exactly what scripted shows do and a lot of them do it much better. There’s nothing especially intelligent about a show because it has a script and by the same token not having a script doesn’t make it garbage.
Alex, I don’t run the show. I’m just telling you the route the producers seem to be on. I would love it if they changed things up, that way I wouldn’t know exactly what’s going to happen, but I disagree with you on one point- I find the show very interesting and entertaining.
And yes shows like American idol and dancing with the stars and The hills are in my opinion dumb. Some reality shows like The Amazing race are good but most of them are really really idiotic.
Alex S:
The Futon Critic does a yearly comprehensive analysis of tv shows. Although he doesn’t name each, he does have the numbers for those canceled or renewed for each season starting with the 1999-2000.
You’ll find that that on average, 2/3rds of new shows are canceled yearly.
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?filter=THE%2010%20THINGS%20YOU%20NEED%20TO%20KNOW%20ABOUT%20THE%20NEW%20SEASON
sucks for heroes its been pretty good lately
Question for people who watch both Kings and The Tudors: how similar are each in storytelling–which one is the better program and why?
I haven’t watched The Tudors yet.
Kings?! Heck Tudors premiered…to hell with other shows!
“The best success they have ratings wise is a reality show about weight loss”
This line made me laugh out loud. Sometimes just stating a plain fact is funny.
In your opinion, it can be moved to SyFy?
told ya
This line made me laugh out loud. Sometimes just stating a plain fact is funny.
Too bad it’s not true.
Link
Sometimes I can’t even believe this used to be the home of Cosby and Seinfeld. Wow, what drop! Do you think there’ll even be a NBC a decade from now?
why the heck would kings get moved to syfy? there’s nothing scifi about it.
I’m sick of people saying if you don’t watch scripted shows you have no brain. There are many reality shows that are very good and many scripted shows that are very good. However, there is also many bad reality shows and many bad scripted show. Just because you watch a reality show doesnt make you brainless. Watching a crappy scripted show (Kings) that nobody else is watching makes you brainless.
why the heck would kings get moved to syfy? there’s nothing scifi about it
It would actually work considerably better as a scifi show. At least then they could come up with an explanation of why David should be important that isn’t groan worthy. I love the concept of the show and some of the scenes within it were excellent but the execution was generally terrible.
Considering the ridiculous price tag on Kings, there’s less than zero chance of it moving to SyFy.
I like Kings and will watch it on Saturdays. BTW, I also watch some reality TV (American Idol, Survivor, Amazing Race) and enjoy it very much. It seems some people just can’t stand the fact that not everyone shares their tastes, and they would rather say that reality viewers are morons than acknowledge that tastes differ and it’s NOT a big deal if someone likes a TV show you personally dislike. Get off the high horses, reality bashers.
well, i saw this coming…ever since the first trailer popped…scrpted shows just arn’t lasting as long as they used too…When will they return? And more reality TV huh…well.
thats too bad, king is a good show
the funny thing is king latest episode is #1 on itunes right now
probably there’s 30-60% chance that king might get renewed for second season cuz of high digital download.
Julia says:
April 7th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
“Too bad it’s not true.”
Thank you Julia. While the post was funny, I knew that BL wasn’t actually their best performing show, glad you caught that.
“probably there’s 30-60% chance that king might get renewed for second season cuz of high digital download.”
No there isn’t.
There is a -50% chance that Kings will get a second season.
This series has cost NBC $60 million for 13 episodes. There’s no way it comes back next year with these numbers regardless of how well it sells on iTunes.
nemo says:
April 7th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
“thats too bad, king is a good show
the funny thing is king latest episode is #1 on itunes right now
probably there’s 30-60% chance that king might get renewed for second season cuz of high digital download.”
Nemo, not to burst your bubble, and I mean no insult to the quality of the show, but 30-60% is not even close. I think someone posted earlier that it was probably around less than 1% chance that it gets renewed, and I would have to agree. Its not coming back, sorry.
Kings will also likely do very well in DVD sales. (it’s still dead though. pity.)
So about two weeks ago, “The Chopping Block” was chopped and NBC announced encorepeats “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” would be on Wednesdays at 8, as well as Saturdays at 8. Then CI aired once on a Wednesday, did horribly, and got replaced by the flagship “L&0″ on Wednesdays but had its Saturday slot. Now, “Kings” comes in and CI is gone from Saturdays. Never seen a show go from 2 nights a week to 0 nights so quickly.
Also, anyone notice the Kings butterfly logo looks a lot like the NBC peacock in terms of style?
NBC is so sad!
Some people classify KINGS as Sci-fi-ish because its an alternate reality future. The same reason some classify JERICHO as Sci-fi since it too reflected a world set in the present day which never existed. Jericho has aired occassionally on the SCI-FI Channel, so I its remotely possible Kings could air reruns there some day, though making new shows is out of the question since Jericho Season 2 ended with 6 million viewers and Kings has only around half that many. If KINGS had 6 million viewers then it would be different since NBC Universal own SCI-FI. The ratings are just too low. At least they are airing the remaining episodes.
Dont really care that Kings will be cancelled. Interesting concept, poorly executed. Its the sort of novelty that might have done better had it started on pay or free cable.
I would not expect DVD sales to be noteworthy. Jericho had 8 million viewers after Season 1 ended and never even made the TOP 30 DVD chart. Its the same type of alternate reality show, so I would not expect sales to even register on the charts since its clear it has no future.
NBC is a total mess. Even previous hits like HEROES grinding down to nothing, beating on CW reruns and Univision.
Southland doesnt look appealing. I will be suprised if it sticks around.
While the show is decent the main plot of the story just isn’t something that can be expanded upon for multiple seasons. I remember the first preview I saw of this show I was thinking that it looked like it could be an interesting miniseries as I just don’t see them pulling off anything else. If common sense is applied then a miniseries is about the only option that makes sense. The same thing also applies to Crusoe. For anyone who thinks there’s a possibility this show is coming back for another season I’d say your chances are better that you’d win the lottery as the chances are very slim to none as Friday and Saturday are typically banishment nights where shows go to die not be reborn.
Brian: While the show is decent the main plot of the story just isn’t something that can be expanded upon for multiple seasons.
This is not true. King David went through many trials and had more wives than King Henry VIII
“Uh Jenna, the show is based on the story of David from the bible, except that the show has the story take place in an alternate present rather than the past. The king isn’ evil…. he’s complex.”
I know Ruth. I got it, I just didn’t feel like it pulled me in personally. Like I said I just wasn’t PERSONALLY impressed with the execution of the show. Sorry. I’m not neccessarily saying it’s “bad” just that I didn’t like it. It was just an opinion.
“Also, anyone notice the Kings butterfly logo looks a lot like the NBC peacock in terms of style?”
Yes! I thought the same thing LOL. I thought it was a sneaky way for them to get the NBC logo into the show! haha.
puredieselbc says:
April 7th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Sometimes I can’t even believe this used to be the home of Cosby and Seinfeld. Wow, what drop! Do you think there’ll even be a NBC a decade from now?
Well, every network has had this happen. For every Seinfeld, Cosby, or Friends, every network has 4 or 5 Misfits of Science, Jennifer Slept Here’s, or Joanie Love Chachi’s. (and I’m being kind) Just seems like NBC is mismanaging itself at the worst possible time. They haven’t had anything strike gold in several years now. Every other network has had a massive breakout hit in the 2000’s. ABC with Dancing with the Stars, CBS with CSI, Fox with American Idol, but NBC hasn’t had theirs. At least not one that stuck.
The process is cyclical. Just like a baseball player is one bloop single or one close play at first that the ump calls in your favor from ending their slump, any network is one show away from getting back on a roll.
Julia says:
April 7th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
This line made me laugh out loud. Sometimes just stating a plain fact is funny.
Too bad it’s not true. Link
He might have meant the overall viewers, not the 18-49’s. Biggest Loser’s most recent episode did just over 9M in the second half hour, while the last Office episode did about 8.2 mil. I’m sure NBC doesn’t mind BL and The Office being a close race, since BL would almost certainly have a greater ROI.
I don’t understand why they aired Kings on a Sunday night. Sunday is way too crowded of a night for NBC to try to premiere a new show. I watch the Simpsons on Sunday night and I’m not going to change my viewing habits just because NBC doesn’t know how to schedule its shows. I mean, its not like NBC doesn’t have time on other nights of the week. I mean, they air two hours of the Biggest Loser for crying out loud! Not to mention all the reruns of the Law and Order shows and shows like Chuck and Life that are practically dead. They had so many better timeslots to put Kings in yet they buried it on Sunday nights. Serves them right.
NBC has no clue what their doing that’s why they chose Sunday. The made a ridiculously expensive show that needed big numbers to be successful and they put it on one of the more competitive nights all assuring the failure of the show. While some may find the life of King David to be interesting I still doubt it’s much more then miniseries material.
“Well that’s a $60 million disaster. Surely someone has to fall on the sword for this?”
Just blame it on Teri Weinberg. Oh, wait. She already fell on the sword. Craig Plestis? No, no… oh, I know. Ben Silverman. Everything is his fault, right?
Fear not, “Kings” fan. I hear HBO as we speak is finding the heir to take “Kings” rightful place atop the Throne of Overratedness. Yes! At last! Another drama with preachy soapboxing, overblown monologues; preposterous dialogue; unrelatable storylines; and an endless sea of bad acting. And then you all can rush to your computers, trot out your pseudo-intellectual hipster cards, and type “SMART! BRILLIANT! PHENOMENATIONAL!” in unison, all the while denouncing those evil hit reality shows for committing the horrible sin of actually being halfway watchable.
The show already airs on SyFy you guys, but there is no way SyFy can efford keeping it going. BTW i watched epi.1 and part of 2(dvr) and sorry I didn’t care for it. Bye bye kings
I only came to this thread out of curiosity tonight. I watched the first espisode with anticipation because the concept sounded promising and I was left completely cold by the casting and execution of the show. I never watched it again after the big let-down of the debut. So tonight, I’m thinking “What happened to that show, anyway? It sucked… I bet it got cancelled.” So I google “nbc kings cancelled” and here I am!
Yeah… NBC has problems. Meanwhile is it ABC who has the CSI franchise and CBS has Law and Order of various flavors. They’ve gotta be kicking the crap out of NBC right now.
Kings is a ratings disappointemnt, but I find it entertaining. As a matter of principle, I don’t watch any “reality” TV. It’s not often that I have the opportunity to latch on to a new series that is not about the eternal triad of cops, lawyers or doctors. Kings is different and fun, despite more than a few brushes with improbability.
I just hope the 13 episodes will complete an arc, with a decent ending.
>< It’s frustrating. I have no problem with the tastes of others differing from mine, but it’s just damned frustrating when the tastes of others decide what is available to me. I really like Life. I really like Kings. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one. I don’t mind that, except for that it probably means I won’t get to see the shows I like anymore because Corporate HQ is pursuing the reality market, which makes them more money, instead of the scripted shows with complex, real, relatable characters (And yes, I think that Crews’s and Silas’s inner conflicts make them complex and more human and I watch to see which parts of them come to the fore) and interesting ideas market, which doesn’t seem to. It’s their right, and all, but it makes me sad to see deep characters fall out of view in favor of people standing on a giant scale.
Problems of majority rule, I guess.
The real reason this show has a 0% chance of returning is because it’s set in an alternate reality that doesn’t have enough opportunities for product placement.
I think that’s one of the reasons Friday Night Lights has been given a reprieve and renewed for two more years (THANK GOD)…because Applebees and Ford and such can help finance the thing.
whilest i tend to agree that kings was not the best drama, lets keep it airing, even on an alterative night, so that those who do like it can still see it, before it finally completes the series and dies off. Another series, The Chopping Block, was just axed after 3 episodes, leaving viewers completely LOST, not knowing who won, what happened, this is unforgiveable, at least let the season play out, cancel it, sure, if it doesnt get the ratings, but hell, you bought it, let it play out, the episodes are surely filmed already, may as well play them, albeit on a different night or time slot, or play them at say 3am so that they could be captured bit torrent wise and shared.
Sundays are inconveniant for a lot of people; all of the friends I have just watch Kings on the internet at NBC.com anyways. And being a sci-fi it gets a lot of under-18 kids I would think aswell. You know what happens on Sunday nights? Homework. Lots of homework. But Saturday wouldn’t be any better – partyy.
The show doesn’t have any room for product placement?
Then why did I see a Mercedes Benz driving King Silas???
Great show and great execution of an intriguing storyline. Network tv has given into reality zombies and so I go back to torrent what I want when I want it.
I had never heard of Kings until I stumbled across it I on hulu.com after watching all my favorite shows of the week (House, Heroes, Lie to Me, Lost, the Office).
I decided to give it a shot, though thought it must be weird since I had never seen it advertised…and it was great and it got better and better after each episode. Obviously not everyone is going to like this show or really get it, as with any show.
NBC and its sister companies seem to have a habit of mismanaging themselves. I don’t understand why they would put such a decent show on a weekend night at all. Perhaps it is the biblical theme that offended the management. The show might not have made it, but it’s obvious that NBC did little to give it a real chance.