More than nine months after the USA Network cancelled the fourth season of the American crime drama TV series “Graceland,” the talks about the show’s poor ratings continue to this day which only justifies the network’s decision to end it less than two weeks after the Season 3 finale was aired on September 17 last year.
Apparently, it is the poor ratings of “Graceland” that made it easier for the network bosses to come to their decision, notwithstanding the fact that the TV show had a strong fan base and very good in terms of creativity.
It may have survived three seasons in the cable channel but the network can only take so many losses.
According to a source from the USA Network, the TV series just did not bring in the ratings that it needed in order to justify its place in the cable channel, notes Cinema Blend.
The source even added that the decision to end “Graceland” after its Season 3 finale was a short conversation even if the TV series left a huge cliffhanger at the end. Shows that are on the bubble ratings-wise or have a strong fan base often survive in limbo for months before the final decision is made.
A confiscated beach house
The storyline of “Graceland” however is quite unique in its own way. It features the stories of a collection of undercover agents from multiple US government agencies who lived together in a confiscated beach house in Southern California known as Graceland.
The premise is more than a little wild for the average viewers but for the last few years since it began airing on the USA Network in 2013, it has become a staple in the cable channel’s programming.
With Jeff Eastin at the helm as executive producer, the USA Network was confident that he would make a good follow-up to his hit six-season “White Collar” with “Graceland.”
But as it turned out, “Graceland” was only half as good as “White Collar” as it only ended after three seasons. The worst part is that it ended abruptly and with a lot of cliffhangers so unless another network or a streaming service picks it up from cancellation, there is no way for Jeff Eastin to give fans the closure they deserve for “Graceland.”
A good start
While it performed rather miserably during its third season, “Graceland” premiered in 2013 as one of the top cable dramas averaging 4.3 million viewers.
But from Season 2 to Season 3, the TV series fell rather hard, experiencing a 30% drop in all categories. In fact, during its Season 3 run, it averaged a 0.55 rating in adults 18 to 49 years old, a 0.66 rating in adults from 25 to 54 years old, and 1.5 million total viewers overall, reports Variety.
According to the source, while the network was very pleased with the show creatively, its ratings say otherwise, so USA Network had to make a painful decision.
The TV series starred Aaron Tveit, Daniel Sunjata, Vanessa Ferlito, Manny Montana, Brandon Jay McLaren, and Serinda Swan.
Apart from the show’s poor ratings especially in the 18-49-year-old viewer demographics, the network has apparently decided to let the ax fall on “Graceland” because it does not own the TV series.
The move to cancel the series came after the network met with Fox 21 where they discussed the future of the show.
Apparently, the network did not see any justification for keeping “Graceland” on air because they do not even own it. It was the same thing that the USA Network did to other shows including “Complications,” “White Collar,” and “Burn Notice.”
The reason why USA Network had a meeting with representatives of Fox 21 was because the latter has been a major supplier of content on the former. With the cancellation of “Graceland,” Fox 21 only had “Queen of the South” TV series on the USA Network.