Image Credit: Carole Segal/AMC
Or Camelot? Or Borgias? Or Treme?
We’ve been obsessively tracking Game of Thrones ratings, but what some of the other cable dramas? Are you still wondering who killed Rosie Larson or do you just want Sarah to go to California with that guy so she can get out of the rain? Here’s how some of the field has been performing, whether each show has been renewed or not, and how each show is trending:
HBO’s Game of Thrones 2.4 million average; numbers somewhat steady through season (Renewed!)
AMC’s The Killing 2.2 million average; ratings took a serious dive after the show’s big premiere, then again after the fourth episode, but have held steady since then, averaging around 1.9 million (No decision yet, but these are still decent numbers for AMC)
Starz’ Camelot 917,000 average; sort of holding steady since second episode (No decision yet)
Showtime’s The Borgias 835,000 average; rough post-premiere drop, but holding steady since then (Renewed!)
HBO’s Treme 561,000 average; down 29 percent from last season; numbers mostly holding steady (Renewed!)
Showtime’s Nurse Jackie 548,000 average; down 26 percent from last season; holding steady (Renewed!)
Showtime’s United States of Tara 324,000 average; down 41 percent from last season; debuted low, then dipped (Cancelled)
*Numbers are live plus same day DVR for premiere episodes. Premium cable dramas like Borgias and Treme expand greatly due to repeat airings, but these premiere numbers still give a good sense of their popularity relative to each other and how each show is trending.
Treme is the best thing on TV! Is it Sunday yet?? I really wish this show was getting the attention here that it deserves.
I’m going to start watching Treme. I found out its done by the same guy who did The Wire, which is by far, the best TV on the planet.
Not saying you won’t like it, but that show is NOTHING like The Wire.
I lasted about half of season 1 then finally had enough.
True!
Down in the Treme, just me and my baby, we all going crazy, buckjumping and having fun!
Sorry, but Sundays mean THE KILLING!!! Best show airing currently on TV!
Loving Camelot and The Killing! I haven’t yet checked out Treme.
We’ve been watching “The Killing” – same kind of pace as “Rubicon” which means slow to start but really revving up toward the conclusion. Still bummed they cancelled Rubicon – hopefully they won’t do it to this show.
Rubicon is right there with Carnivale as one of the biggest cancellation injustices on tv, ever!
Agreed. RUBICON was excellent, but sadly, American audiences have the attention span of a fruit fly. If you don’t get a plot revelation every 15 minutes before a commercial break, it’s too “hard” or “slow” for some to follow.
Rubicon was outstanding but Carnivale was HORRIBLY slow. It took 2 full friggin seasons for the villain and hero to even meet. I hoped so much that Carnivale would eventually hit its stride and it never did.
Triple agree with the unjust cancellation of Carnivale. It has been, what, 6 years since it ended and I still wish they would bring it back to HBO. Sigh.
Simon, you’re a fatheaded jingoistic moron.
I couldn’t agree, with you more.
@James – Perhaps, but at least *I* know what “jingoistic” actually means.
Loved both of these shows!
@simon – har har!! (and snap!)
Its nice to read that someone remembers Carnivale. Worst cancellation EVER.
I couldn’t agree more, The Killing does have the same pace and smarts as Rubicon. I absolutely love that I have no idea who the killer is. I hope AMC hangs on to this one as I think a second season would be equally as interesting as the first.
The Killing is excellent. It sets up a terrifically authentic and frightening atmosphere in the same vain as the movie “Se7en.” This is the one show I look forward to the most each week. I hope it comes back.
Agreed. I still have no idea who the killer is. Nothing is telegraphed. I cannot wait to find out who it is.
Someone is going to come out of the air to have killed Rosie…..I thought it was Bleko!
Gotta ask, ES, is your name from Jennifer McMahon’s new book?
@tigger851 – yeah, Belko was my leading suspect, too. Now I have no idea!
@tigger851 & @Simon Jester: My $ is (still) on Belko, too.
I think its the money guy who contributed the $5 million to the campaign. In the pilot there was a shot of the Larson’s living room buffet and it had a picture of Rosie(Same picture as the ads”Who killed Rosie Larsen?) and it had a bunch of 1 $ bills around it, left there like pocket change. This makes me think it was a hint that this is about money. Plus the casino owner seems like a suspect now. It could be the campaign $ guy.
The problem with the show; which is really not a problem at all… is that the average viewer watches the CSI type programs and is used to that quick fix ending after 40 minutes. They are just not used watching an intelligent storyline unfold and evolve as it would in real life. Nothing personal EW, but thank this A.D.D. mentality to the immediate information influx provided by internet, twitter, facebook.
I don’t watch any show live but The Killing is the first show I watch after it is recorded on Sunday night. I think that it is put together as well as The Wire. I do agree that it could be in danger because of the short attention span of the general TV audience.
Don’t you want the killer to be revealed by the end of season 1? Then a new mystery involving a different murder and different suspects for season 2. Possibly even a new cast a setting.
@Sam J – oy, no! (To new cast/new setting). I’m with the group that’s become just a wee bit disenchanted as the series progressed (nothing to do with my attention span or show’s pacing) but rather with the way-too-many-for-a-show-as-snappy-as-this-one boneheaded and corny plot devices. I mean! The pink shirt, the cell phones left behind, ad nauseum – I’m still transfixed, though, and just cannot stop watching. I would not feel this way were they to recast Enos and/or Kinnaman, though…of that I’m pretty dang sure.
I would love to be like your said, but only a different murder/story, I want they to keep the same cast.
Still watching Borgias, dropped The Killing. Will probably catch the finale.
Is the Borgias all done? I know there is a Camelot finale on Friday, but I want to catch up on Borgias too. So much good tv!
I WANT to enjoy The Killing, but the pace is killing me.
@d— perfectly stated. I so wanted to love it and I still watch but it’s become a near burden at this point!
I agree! I wish the whole plot with the politician would just go away. It really sucks the life out of the show for me.
Oh gawd, I agree with you. I really want to like this show more than I do. But, I absolutely hate the whole political story-line. Just seems all so cliched and I’m not at all a fan of Billy Campbell. He really over-acts.
You are going to be so sorry you said that when you find out Rosie’s death is tied to the Richmond camp.
I think Richmond actually did it, or his blonde male assistant.
Mitch Larsen is really pissing me off. Evertime she comes on the screen I just look away. I mean I understand she’s devastated by Rosie’s death, but I mean seriously- repeatedly asking for Ahmed to get arrested, and then blaming her husband when he didn’t get arrested? If I were her husband I would’a slapped that b*tch. There’s a limit to stupidity!
Word. That’s why I dropped the show. Can’t stand the character of Mitch. Also… not really into the Larson family and their grief. I wish they’d focus more on the detectives and the investigation, and less on pointless shots of the devastated family looking out into nothing.
Yes. I understand they wanted to really focus on the family as well as the detectives, but the problem is that the detectives are about the only characters I’m interested in at this point, so I’m bored with the other characters. I feel like up until last week’s episode (fingers crossed they continue with this dynamic) they’d almost forgotten about the victim herself. I was invested in her creepy friends and her creativity, and they went nowhere with it.
I’ve invested this much time in The Killing, so I’ll keep watching only because I’m curious to find out who the killer is. However, I’ve just come to the realization that I don’t like a single character on the show, and their depiction of Seattle is so off. I’m not sure whether I’ll want to watch a second season.
The problem with The Killing is that there hasn’t been anywhere near enough (well done) character development. Outside of Holder and Stan, I really don’t care for these characters.
Mitch and Sarah havne’t grown at all. The entire political storyline is horribly done. You can’t take Billy Campbell’s character seriously when he gravitates between “ultra hardass” to “spineless idiot” so frequently.
Most egregious, however, is the fact that there has been little to no attempt at making Rosie an intersting character. Twin Peaks made Laura such a pivotal part of the town, you felt the ripple effect from her death. I frankly don’t even know enough about Rosie to care about her in the first place…
Mitch and Rosie are basically Sean Penn in Mystic River as a couple. The acting is supposed to be subdued but actually they’re showing them in every scene on the verge of breakdown.
The show was promising but it’s now very disappointing. The investigation is actually quite stupid. The cops didn’t even check some basic things (Rosie’s taxi after visiting Bennet’s house). There were entire episodes where Rosie was completely left out of the investigation and our minds, while, as Brint pointed out, she was supposed to be the emotional heart, the cause for grief and a feeling of loss.
And there are the coincidences: what are the odds that two girls would visit on the same night Bennet’s house while they own the very same Grand Canyon T-Shirt?
There’s clever and there’s stupid. The Killing is fake clever. The plot is arbitrary and the padding with the political sub-plot is lame (the “good” candidate falling in love with his assistant). It’s just an episode from a generic procedural show stretched over 13 hours with a style that mimics Seven with a few Dogma 95 effects (that were previously used in the Danish original) and long gazes full of anger/grief/cluelessness depending on the character.
Agree! Life is too short.
The Killing really sagged for about 4 eps but turned around last weekend so I’m in in for the duration.
Completely agree! The Bennet storyline was one extended red herring, and it just did nothing for me. It feels like we’re back on track, though. I feel like it’s going to end up being a great seven episode series that happened to be 12 episodes long.
Agree!! What kills me is all the missed lines. Can we please get subtitles put in for those of us who can’t read lips!
Treme and The Killing don’t have the (now expected in entertainment)gay scenes but are still just as good, well acted and written. Treme especially. that show is like Glee for people who actually love music. Listening to Steve Earle explain why John Hiatt’s Feels Like Rain is a timeless song was manna to a tunesmith like me. sure beats the hell outta the drum machine crap they mostly prance around to on Glee.
Agreed. Even if it didn’t have all of those absolutely terrific and authentic performances, TREME would be worth watching for the music alone.
Ignorance = having to insult one show to compliment another.
Gay scenes? Whaaaa?
Lost interest in The Killing about the same time as the investigation zeroed in on her teacher. The show was wasting too much time on him. He was obviously innocent, and, either due to the writing, or the actor playing him, he wasn’t a compelling character. I went from playing iPhone games while it was on to just watching something else. Shame. I thought the show had potential. Now, I don’t even think I’ll watch the last episode. I’ll check Wikipedia the day after to see who dun it.
@Scott- I think it’s his acting. The guy needs Acting 101; nothing that comes out of his mouth or even his facial expressions are believable.
I can see where you are coming from with the teacher, but how they have spun it, tagging an additional mystery to the character and putting him in jeopardy has kept it interesting. Plus, how often do you get detectives heading down the wrong path in television shows? Not very, which sets it apart from those popular but lame CSwhatevers.
Totally. That actor is horrible, and you know he didn’t do it, so why invest in the story.
The actor isn’t good, true.But they invested in the story because it’s realistic. How many times do you think an investigation zero’d in on a suspect just for the sake of having one, at the sake of finding the guilty party? Now they have to deal with having wasted time. IT happens. I like that the detectives are fallible, even to that degree that they may lose alot of valuable time, evidence, etc. The audience may want a quick resolution and obvious answers, but I love that AMC is being true to both reality and the source material.
That’s when it lost me too. I think the Linden’s fiance’ did it.
I’m still watching The Killing but at times my patience have been wearing thin. I think 13 episodes are 3 to many. 10 would have been perfect.
I feel the same way. I don’t think the writing is as smart as it could be. Part of the problem is that only perhaps 7 days has gone by for the show while in our time it has been almost 3 months (if i have the days/months off it’s because i am not really caring at this point.)
I also feel like their suspects are cliche in that, of course, the teacher is a suspect – then he says that thing about the passports. As an audience member, I just rolled my eyes thinking, Of course there is a passport involved! He must have done it! Sigh.
Then the mayor telling the press that he couldn’t have fathered the child because he had a vasectomy…in the next scene he is telling his aide to be sure the doctor backdates his reports, etc. I felt like the writers didn’t think we were a smart enough audience to figure that out. This also tells me that the writers don’t know how to write in a way that will let the audience think for themselves. I feel like I am being spoon-fed everything. So far, even though I don’t know who killed Rosie, nothing has surprised me. I am beginning to NOT care who killed her.
AMC – this is disappointing to say the least.
My thoughts exactly. My biggest fear is at the end when the killer is revealed it will be someone who we are introduced to in the next few episodes. That will drive me nuts and it will make the 1st 3/4 of the season pointless.
YES! I’m still watching The Killing!
the writing is brilliant, they are finally treating a cop show somewhat close to real life… most shows solve a murder in under an hour… twists and turn and SUPERB acting! Emmys’ for Mireille Enos and Michelle Forbes PLEASE!!!!
Yes, god forbid we see a more accurate depiction of a murder investigation and its fallout. Here, the cops don’t just question one or two people and have the ONE TRUE SUSPECT fall into their laps. They have to go track everyone down themselves, follow up leads, eliminate suspects, etc. That takes time and each episode is one day. I don’t think people truly understood what that kind of pacing entailed. They’ve been up front about how this was going to go.
Wow, you think the writing is brilliant? I don’t think this show is written brilliantly AT ALL. I feel dumb watching this show; being handed everything to me on a platter is a turn off.
Want to know what a real cop show is with truly brilliant writing? The Wire blows this show out of the water. What’s fabulous about The Wire is that it didn’t take a full season to get its legs. The Wire started brilliant from day one.
The writers of The Killing should take lessons from The Wire.
Guess what? The Wire ISN’T ON TV ANYMORE.
Hey AB
Just cause a show isn’t on anymore does that mean it isn’t good? Duh. Guess what AB? The Wire didn’t get cancelled because it was bad. The showrunner left on his own terms. And if you read the news, our own Attorney General *just two days ago* suggested that the showrunner bring back The Wire, ’cause it was THAT good.
Since you didn’t get it the first time, Suggesting that the writers of the Killing take cue from one of the best shows on TV means JUST THAT.
Real Talk!! The Wire was simply brilliant.
The writing is not brilliant. When the show started, I thought the cops were from some tiny little rural town, not a huge urban department. They seem to ignore all the resources available to them. They don’t follow real protocols – call all taxi companies, interview all family members, establish a timeline, etc. So it’s frustrating to see that 10 episodes later they’re just getting around to “first day” type stuff. My opinion has nothing to do with CSI shows, it’s just real life. The writers should have gotten some cops as consultants.
Some of the acting is good, but when you are constantly seeing people staring out windows into the rain that just wears thin. Sure, the cops are flawed and the family is flawed but how many times do we have to see it? Maybe AMC should have just purchased the foreign version and aired that instead.
Also, in real life, you don’t get a new leading suspect appearing in the last two minutes of the episode/day, just to get dismissed a few minutes into the next episode (the school janitor, the rich boyfriend, the terrorist conspiracy)…
I agree with you.
I agree. And I’m confused by the seeemingly great wealth and the ‘high living’ of the dude running for mayor. (Forgot his name and usually fast forward that section of the show because I’m so uninterested in it.) It just doesn’t seem that for a mayoral candidate (albeit in a large city) is that smooth and fashion forward. I live in another large city and the mayor is not wearing tailor made expensive clothes. And the women running the campaigns aren’t dressed in overly tight designer duds with 3 inch heels. It just feels – so fake. Don’t get me started on Rosie’s folks. I read about how great the mom was. I find her just moping around (of course, she’s in mourning) with the same expression. It’s not exactly Oscar acting, though.
These comments remind me of the first Prime Suspect with Helen Mirren. Both had suspects they were sure had done it, but the investigation really went cold for a while. I have to disagree with your one true suspect comment, though; they hardly did any investigation at all before zeroing in on the teacher (their one, true suspect) and seemingly dropping everything and everyone else they were looking at. Now they, and we, have wasted all this time. I would have expected them to continue exploring other lines of inquiry at the same time, to be honest.
Darn cancellation of US of Tara! Gonna miss it.
Totally agree. Entire cast of “Tara” is fabulous. Will really miss that show.
My heart sank when I saw that! It’s my favorite show,m and every season has been increasingly awesome!
Agree what’s being said about The Killing. I like the show, but man is the pace of the show ever slow.
I am still watching The Killing– I enjoy a slower-paced, character-driven drama that keeps me guessing. Have been checking every day for Doc Jensen’s popwatch blog on this– love his weekly analyses!
was there a recap for last week’s episode? i haven’t been able to find it
No recap from doc last week either– I think because he was putting all his time and effort into his final (for now) LOST article
Why doesn’t EW recap the good shows? They do recaps on garbage and reality shows, but not the Killing or other cable shows that people are interested in.
I have been hanging in there with The Killing – I am one who always pleads for patience but until about a week ago, I was ready to quit. Will keep with it now.
Really enjoying Game of Thrones.
The biggest mistake besides cancelling Rubicon was cancelling Terriers. They are soo missed.
yes, still watching the Killing–hope they renew it–i watch Treme too and was kind of hoping they would cancel it so i could stop watching–at times it feels like they are schooling us on all the injustices of the city and a lot of the minor actors can’t even act–it’s distracting.
Just watching Treme and Game of Thrones right now and enjoying both TREMEndously!
The Killing started out as a runaway train…loved it. Then it turned into an old snail that crawled along leaving yawners in it’s wake. Last week’s episode though, fired the series back up. Now for the first time in weeks I’m looking forward to Sunday.
totally agree
I’ve just been waiting 11 weeks for SOMETHING to happen that is related to the case. I seriously doubt that all the dots are going to be connected. And frankly, I’m not sure I care anymore. Who the heck killed Rosie? That’s all I want to know . . .