Season 3 of the American crime drama TV series “Graceland” has one of the best cliffhangers in recent memory when its finale was aired in September last year and it was apparently a ploy by show creator Jeff Eastin into luring the USA Network to renew the show for a fourth season.
The cast members of “Graceland” also hoped that the major cliffhanger in the Season 3 finale would be enough to convince the network to push through with another season.
The third season of the TV series ended with such a jaw-dropping twist that even the fans eagerly awaited what would happen next in the fourth season.
But as it turned out, the show was canceled and a source from the network revealed that while “Graceland” was a great and very creative show, the ratings did not justify bringing it back from a financial perspective, reports Yibada.
With that being said, it was over for “Graceland.” Even the showrunner or the fans did not bother initiating a petition to ask the network to reconsider its decision on the cancellation of “Graceland.”
Eastin or the producers of the show did not also bother offering the show to be rescued with other networks or streaming service, realizing perhaps that the justification of the USA Network was right on target.
Started strong and it kept on improving
“Graceland” started out on a strong note and the story line kept improving every season, with the undercover agents living in Graceland spiraling more and more out of control until it became very difficult to tell whether they had gone rogue or were just keeping their covers intact.
By the time the Season 3 finale came along, the occupants of Graceland came back home after taking down the Sarkissian mafia, only to discover that Jakes had run off with all the money they stole from the ATF, the same money that they were planning to use to disappear.
Jeff Eastin said that he already had plans on how Season 4 of “Graceland” would be told. He also disclosed that they also had plans then to promote Brandon Jay McLaren, who portrays Jakes in the show, to series regular.
Eastin also said that he was also considering a time jump of six months after Jakes departure for the fourth season.
But all his plans got sidetracked when the USA Network made the announcement of cancellation just weeks after the Season 3 finale airing. Still, Eastin said that he has no regrets and he is still happy and proud of the three seasons of “Graceland.”
Unfortunately, all of their well-laid plans have come to naught, but Eastin appears not to regret a thing and has said that he’s happy and proud of the three seasons of “Graceland.”
Poor rating has become obvious
Despite its great storyline, “Graceland” has a very glaring poor rating. Its second season may have reached more than two million viewers, which is below average as it is, but the premiere and finale episode of Season 3 only drew in one million and 900,000 viewers, respectively, details the Ecumenical News.
Once a TV series do not generate one million viewers per episode, then it is almost always done with, with the exception perhaps of “Rectify” on Sundance.
Jeff Eastin and the producers of “Graceland” already knew what was forthcoming upon seeing the viewership figure for the Season 3 finale episode so getting the decision from the USA Network about the cancellation was no longer that surprising for them.