When the Season 3 finale of the American crime drama TV series “Graceland” left a major cliffhanger, the executive producers actually offered fans and viewers of the show false hopes that it would be renewed for a fourth season.
Unfortunately, the cable channel, USA Network, was not convinced of the cliffhanger following the disappointing ratings of “Graceland” for its entire third season.
Thus, a few weeks after the airing of its Season 3 finale, USA Network already announced the cancellation of “Graceland” for Season 4, much to the disappointment of many of its fans and viewers.
Based on a rating report, “Graceland” was reportedly doing well with an average of 1.7 million viewers every episode and 784,000 of those were from the highly-sought adults demographic from 18 to 49 years old, details the Latin Post.
A breakdown in the show’s future
The move to cancel the series came after the network met with Fox 21, the content producer of “Graceland.” Apparently, there was a breakdown in the future of the show, and it has officially been canceled by the USA Network.
It was unclear at that time whether it was a contract issue or a rating issue that led to the cancellation decision, but the consensus of the rumors are saying that the show was canceled because of its miserable ratings.
In the end, the USA Network did not see any justification in keeping shows on the air that are not even theirs. So for the most part, it was a financial decision to end the show, among others.
It should also worth mentioning that Fox 21 has been a major supplier of content on the USA Network, and now they only have one show left on the network, “Queen of the South.”
Luring the network for a renewal
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, notes the TV Series Finale.
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.
“Graceland” started out on a strong note and the storyline kept improving per 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.