Saving Grace will finish out its final season next summer. The Hollywood Reporter (August 13, 2009) reports that Fox Television Studios, which produces the show, declined a fourth season for "financial reasons." Instead the show will be given an extra three episodes, for a nine-episode run next summer.
Typically, canceled shows fail due to poor ratings – there are too few people watching to justify keeping it on the air. That's not the case here, a move that The Los Angeles Times (August 14, 2009) calls "very unusual."
Saving Grace is not particularly flashy. It basically looks like every other cop show on television. Though it uses visual effects, they're hardly pervasive. A fourth season would stand to bring in revenue for the studio, both from the network (which pays a fee for the show) and from other sources, such as the Saving Grace DVD sales and foreign revenue. If the studio declined a full fourth season for financial reasons, it must not be making enough money on the show to justify producing it. Indeed, Variety reports that a rep for FTVS stated, "the economics of the series mandated stronger international and ancillary revenue than the show was able to generate" (August 14, 2009). That's in addition to rising costs as shows age.
There's a troubling trend in television to populate shows with award-winning actors – Glenn Close in Damages, Timothy Hutton in Leverage, and Holly Hunter in Saving Grace – as if it will guarantee a good show. On the surface it makes sense. TV executives can justify spending tens of millions of dollars to produce a show because such actors have a demonstrated history of success. But that justification fundamentally misunderstands the nature of television.
Economics of Movies vs. Economics of Television
In movies it's believed that big stars can 'open' a movie, meaning that people will go see the movie on its opening weekend by virtue of the star alone. It's the Will Smith-Fourth of July phenomenon. Given the business model of movies – studios get the highest percentage of ticket sales on opening weekend – it's understandable that such stars would be key to the decision-making process. The demonstrated history of box office performance justifies it.
The same is not true of television. Television makes stars. E.R. catapulted George Clooney to stardom. He's now one of the most decorated actors in film. More recently, Grey's Anatomy made Katherine Heigl a household name. Now she stars in romantic comedies and her life populates the tabloids.
Star-studded TV
Television can launch such stars, but stars can't keep a show on the air. A movie is a one-time commitment. Audiences watch once and they're done. Television requires audiences to come back week after week, over a span of many years on a successful show. That's practically a relationship.
It doesn't matter how talented the actors, people stop watching if a show isn't good. If star-power was the only requirement, Shark with James Woods would have been successful. So would Cane with Jimmy Smits and Hector Elizondo. But those shows, among others, didn't work. The TV industry doesn't operate like the film industry.
Final Season Comes Early
Enticing award-winning stars to do television is an expensive proposition; shows have to pay for their star power. If the studio can't make enough money on the show, even with solid ratings, is that due to the cost of getting such a star? If so, that's hardly beneficial for viewers or the network, especially if the network considered the show profitable enough to continue airing.
Saving Grace will end its run earlier than it could have, a shame both for fans who watch the show and employees who work on it. The one silver lining is this announcement gives the showrunner time to wrap up the series properly. But perhaps this experience will cause the network and studio to consider shows for sustainability rather than simple marketability. If not, as The Los Angeles Times says, this "might become more common in today's challenging marketplace."
Read more: 'Saving Grace' will wrap next summer and Shortsighted or smart? TNT's 'Saving Grace' has plug pulled by producers.
Update 12/28/09: In a Variety story about the success of scripted series on cable, the Saving Grace cancellation was noted as the "biggest surprise of the year for TNT" ("New, scripted series boost cable ratings," 28 December 2009). The article went on to note, "The 'Saving Grace' situation reflects the tricky balance the biz faces as more and more outlets produce originals."
Update 2/2/10: The Futon Critic is reporting that Saving Grace will return earlier than expected on Monday, 29 March @ 9pm when viewers will get back-to-back new episodes from 9 to 11pm ("Exclusive: 'Saving Grace' Returns to TNT on March 29," 2 February 2010). The next week it will assume its regular 10pm timeslot, though that will be interrupted by the NBA playoffs as of 19 April. There are 9 new episodes left to air in its final season.
Kimberly Shumway - Kim has worked all over the entertainment industry, from reality networks to film companies, from the agency world to the production ...
