Though sci-fi geeks were treated to a new two-hour episode of FlashForward last night, not many chose to watch: The freshman drama on ABC only averaged a 1.9 rating/8 share among adults 18-49 and attracted a measly 6.54 million viewers overall, according to fast nationals. (Final numbers will be released later today.) That’s lower than what the series was able to attract from its last new episode on Dec. 3 (2.1/6, 7.06 million). It also did a (bad) number on the 9-10 p.m. timeslot compared to what Grey’s Anatomy was able to lure last week (6.48 million versus 10.94 million).
Clearly, these ratings don’t bode well for the struggling franchise, which is now on its third showrunner, and was already operating at a deficit in the ratings. (It lost 43 percent of its viewers last fall.) And it’s never good for a serialized show like FlashForward to come back after such a long hiatus. (In this case, it was three and half months.) That’s why ABC made the decision long ago to begin running Lost later in its season and without interruption. As is the case with most high-concept shows, however, FlashForward could see some improvement in its ratings when reports from DVR usage come in later.
ABC has yet to decide whether to pick up a second season of the show.
The network was still able to crow that it had the No. 1 non-sports program, since Fox aired a repeat of Bones and FlashForward beat NBC’s low-rated lineup of original comedies. CBS took the night with the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
For more on FlashForward:
FlashForward recap: Moving things along
Will overseas fans save FlashForward?
Do you think that the networks will ever realize pulling a show off the air for months at a time destroys the shows audience and rarely do they come back. Way to ruin a good premise.
totally. let’s see:
Lost – Season 3
Jericho
Glee – (this will prob be OK)
Flashforward
V
Pushing Daisies
Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles
Am I missing more?
oh yeah… Fringe.
There’s no need for such long breaks in a single season.
This is money to them, I just really don’t understand why they’d do something that would cause them to lose some of it.
You’re missing Reaper. Great show, great writing & acting. Delayed by CW and then brought back against…American Idol.
Stargate Universe. A 5 month break from December 4 till April 2.
Yes, you should also mention “Invasion” which was during the 2005-2006 television schedule. Debuted to great ratings, ABC took it off the air for 13 weeks to air some “Groundhog’s Day”-type show called “Day Break” or something, and then brought invasion back in the spring. It was my second favorite show, after “Lost,” and ABC murdered it because of terrible scheduling.
Day Break aired during a hiatus in Lost Season 3, not Invasion. Invasion was already cancelled the season before.
You’re missing one of my favorites… Life on Mars
Do you think the networks will also realize that FlashForward was up against stiff competition like the NCAA Basketball Tournament? I’m willing to bet that the vast majority of FlashForward’s audience are guys–the same audience who would watch a basketball tournament. In addition to a 3 1/2 month hiatus, FlashForward didn’t stand a chance. It’s too bad because last night’s episode was one of the best!
That is totally the truth. I totally forgot the show was on until I hit up my DVR during the games. Thankfully I caught the show because it was one of the best they have had for a while. They need to make Dom a more central character because he is the best thing that shows got right now.
most people were watching the basketball tournament duh……….
That’s right! It was MUCH more exciting to watch the OU Bobcats dominate Georgetown!!! Go Bobcats!
Sorry. Flashforward and V are painful to watch and far from intriguing. Until they come up with something better, the future of ABC’s programming rests with Castle, Wednesday night’s comedies, the Bachelor, and Dancing. LOST was great.
Yeah i don’t know about everyone but i was watching the ncaa tourney and if it wasn’t on i’d have definitely watched Flash Forward cause i’ve been waiting for it to come back for so long. The ratings should not be judged to harshly going against March Madness. I watched the two hours online and they were good. cannot wait till next episode and even though it again goes against basketball i will aim to watch it.
It doesn’t make any sense why ABC decided to break up the season for FlashForward and V like they have. I mean, they learned their lesson from Lost and now realize that airing Lost only in the Spring with all new episodes each week is the way to go. It’s the way cable has done it for years.
It just proves again how (with the exception of Lost) that sci-fi shows are never really successful as long-running series on broadcast TV. They are better suited for cable or being produced as a mini-series.
No, the idiots in charge at the networks will NEVER learn that taking a show off for months at a time pretty much guarantees it’s cancelation. They don’t really care in my opinion, otherwise they’d know better by now. They then wonder why the ratings are so low, well DUH morons!!! Get a clue! lol
I think flashforward is one on the best shows ive seen. They just need to promote it more.
Maybe they shouldn’t have aired the episode until after March Madness.
Yeah, and yesterday had one of the best first days of the tourney ever, with three overtime games and some major upsets. Wondering whether some FBI guy’s marriage will fall apart just can’t compare with that.
It’s like they are setting the show up to fail – take it off the air for four months, then air it against March Madness and one of the greatest single days in the tournament’s history. Way to go ABC
@Gretchen: I know! It seems to be an ABC specialty. Witness what they did to Better Off Ted, another show that deserved much better treatment from the network…
This smells a lot like Jericho sabotage… off of hiatus square into march madness is definitely a set up!
I agree with you and others that ABCD wants it to fail! I like the series but I like to watch it online and that’s a whole other demo that “The Powers That Be” do not take into account!
Still think this show has a lot of potential ABC better give it a chance. The networks have to give shows like this a chance because the story isn’t finished in one hour like some other mindless dramas. SciFi show always get the sh*t end of the stick maybe I’ll go put my sunglasses on and watch CSI Miami(CRINGE)
i agree with you…but…..i didnt even KNOW that there was a new episode,,, ( probably why there wasnt much that were watching it)….thank god i have dvr!!!!!!!!!!!
The show HAD potential with the concept and they screwed it up from the very beginning. It was losing ratings before the hiatus. The extended break didn’t help things but it was probably on its way out anyway. You can’t compare this show to the genius of Lost. The writing is awful.
Did you see last night’s episode of FlashForward? It was the best episode so far. Instead of focusing on Mark’s marriage, the stars of the show were Simon and Lloyd. FlashForward is definitely 10x better than it was before the break!
But it’s too late. So many people lost interest long ago and have found other shows to keep their interest.
This show is boring as ****. LOST it is not!
Those who missed it missed some really clutch television. Dominic Monaghan’s Simon in particular became a truly awesome character for the show, and I’ll watch Ricky Jay act in anything.
I didn’t even know it was coming back last night until I saw something on here. I feel like I didn’t see any promos. Luckily I DVR’d it.
You would think ABC would learn that you can’t hold any sort of serialized series for 3-5 months and not expect a huge drop in numbers.
It doesn’t help that FlashForward’s concept isn’t that great. It started out promising, but it’s too convoluted now for its own good. I have a feeling we’re going to be hearing similar news about V next Tuesday.
I worry you’re right. But ABC obviously is counting on the post-Lost time slot to deliver eyeballs.
We like this show and consider it “must see” tv, but we’re outraged that ABC chose to air it’s first episode after a long hiatus against the first day of the NCAA tournament. Are you kidding, ABC? If they were looking for numbers to support cancelling the show, they succeeded with their crummy scheduling.
With so many DVRs, I don’t even know why they bother about overnight ratings any more. I recorded the show and plan to watch it soon. I do hope the pace picks up a little and we get some answers quickly, but the basic premise is fascinating to me: if you thought you knew your future, would you accept it or try to change it if it’s bad? And can it be changed? I think their concept of the blue hand clubs was pretty genius, and that they have handled the people’s reactions to their visions a lot more realistically than my beloved LOST (with so many conversations going “Why did you do this?/Why did this happen?” “I’m not going to tell you.” “Oh, okay.”)
This show is a thousand times worse then lost thought.
though**
The bother because there’s a better chance of people watching commercials if they watch live and the commercials help keep the shows on air in the first place.
I recorded it and plan to watch it tonight, but I need Community and Parks & Rec and the Office on Thursday nights and then, well, Vampire Diaries start again next week…so…I will probably still try and watch it, but just for completeness purposes.
I missed it last night, and may not bother with the rebroadcast tomorrow night. The series started out interesting, but man the characters are all such unlikable whiners. Does the director have a rule that no one can smile?
They should have left it on during winter. People have been holed up in their houses for months, itching to get outside. Now that it’s starting to get nice out, that’s exactly what they’re going to do!
PERSONALLY I THINK WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN FLASH FORWARDS ALL THE TIME BUT WE JUST DON’T REMEMBER IT THE SAME WAY AS THE SHOW. SOMETIMES WHEN YOU DREAM YOUR SUBCONCIOUS GOES AND COMES BACK AND WHEN YOU WAKE UP YOU JUST DON’T REMEMBER FOR MAYBE YEARS. THEN WHEN YOU HAVE THAT DEJAVU EFFECT YOU CAUGHT UP WITH IT. SOMETHING TO CONSIDER.
…
…L O L
Why are you yelling at us?
‘ Why are you yelling at us?’
DEAD.
I think that DVR results will significantly boot FlashForward ratings. For those of you who recorded it, have fun. Last night’s episode was freakin’ awesome, especially the second hour. I hope it gets a second season!
I totally agree. Last night’s episode was awesome! Simon made the show. I wanna find out more about what he and Lloyd were up to during the blackout.
i’ve given up on this show. it’s been GONE 2 long for me. i made give “V” a 2nd chance when it comes back