Record-Breaking Memorial Weekend 2013! ‘Fast & … 
Cannes: Competition Movies Divide Critics; How Much Do … 
SAG-AFTRA Sued For Witholding Foreign Residuals And … 
Zach Braff Ends $3+M Kickstarter Campaign 
Fox Unscripted TV Czar Mike Darnell To Exit 
NBC Sets Oklahoma Tornado Benefit Concert For May 29 
Cannes: Directors’ Fortnight Honors ‘Les … 
SHOCKER: Tom Cruise Exits ‘Man From … 
A+E Rebuild: BBC’s Jana Bennett To Run Bio And LMN … 
RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Hannibal’ Hits Low, … 
‘Katie’ Shakeup: Rachel Miskowiec Replaces … 
Hammond On Cannes: French Hero Jerry Lewis On His Return To … 
Cannes: Another Jewelry Heist? $2.6M Necklace Missing After … 
Hammond On Cannes: Leo DiCaprio’s Moon Trip Tops … 
Specialty B.O. Preview: ‘Before Midnight’, … 
2012-2013 Season Network Rankings: CBS Sweeps In Final … 
Full 2012-2013 TV Season Series Rankings 
TOLDJA! Paramount Pocketing $190M From Disney For Marvel … 
‘Good Morning America’ Hits 19-Year Viewership … 
MGM Buys ‘Modern Family’ Producer Ben … 
‘Fashion Police’ Writers Chant On Picket Lines: … 
NBC today pulled the plug on legal drama Outlaw after putting the freshman series on production hiatus last week. It hails from Conan O’Brien’s once NBC-based production company Conaco. Conan and company were shocked when, in the middle of his fight with NBC Universal brass over The Tonight Show hosting gig last January, the network picked up their pilot. NBC gave Outlaw a solid sampling after America’s Got Talent but the series never took hold in its permanent Friday 10 PM time period where it was crushed by CBS’ Blue Bloods. Starting this Friday, NBC will air a second hour of newsmagazine Dateline in the time slot. (NBC had been airing a 2-hour Dateline from 8-10 PM, leading into Outlaw.) This Friday, the network will premiere new reality series School Pride at 8 PM, which will now be followed by a 2-hour Dateline.
The remaining 4 original episodes of Outlaw will air Saturdays at 8 PM over the next five week (preempted on October 30th for a previously scheduled Shrek special). The Jimmy Smits-starring Outlaw in its do-or-die airing this past Friday was only able to match its underwhelming 1.0 rating in adults 18-49 from the week before and drew 4.2 million viewers, down 11%. On the other hand, Outlaw‘s lead-in, the two-hour Dateline (1.6/6) spiked 23% from the previous week, which probably helped NBC brass’ decision to stick with a 2-hour edition of the primetime newsmagazine on the night. Earlier today, Outlaw gained some ratings ground when the Live+7 numbers for premiere week were released. It was the third biggest gainer among freshman series, up 27.3% to a still-miniscule 1.4 demo rating. (No. 1 on that list was fellow cancelled new drama Lone Star on Fox.) This marks the first cancellation for NBC this fall and the third overall by the broadcast networks, following the dismissals of Lone Star and ABC’s My Generation. NBC has another shot at a launching a legal franchise this season with David E. Kelley’s midseason series Harry’s Law.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
Loading ...
Maybe the two hours of depressing Dateline is part of the problem? And is anyone really going to watch “School Pride”?
Actually Dateline has had above normal ratings. Dateline was not the problem. Bad show, plain and simple.
Just because people weren’t watching doesn’t mean it was a bad show. In fact, as people insist on watching reality tv, the less viewers you have the better the show.
I THINK OUTLAW IS A GREAT SHOW. JUST A BAD TIME SLOT. NEED TO LEEP IT ON. GET RID OF SOME OF THE OTHER SHOWS LIKE, COUGAR TOWN, AND ALOT MORE. OUTLAW OS FANTASTIC, KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK JIMMY…
this person was absolutely right!!!!! it dealt with issues of today and i think if moved, it would be one of your biggest shows….our family kept looking for the show on the program listing, but it was soooooo disappointing when we could not find it……PLEASE give it another chance…thanks
I agree the time slot is the culprit here. How many people after a long week of work and obligations at home want to sit at home on a friday night and watch TV. Even if they want to thier kids won’t allow it because of school football etc… Why not Wednesday night when there is realy nothing on TV to watch worth watching. I so like that option.
They should have picked up Rex Is Not Your Lawyer. At least it sounded like something we had not seen before. Instead of boring Jimmy Smits and the same old stories. How long will Harry’s Law last?
That’s really too bad. It was a well-written show with wonderful performances. Sometimes it just takes more than a couple of weeks for a show to find its audience. But, reality tv is sooo much cheaper and can be made non-union, making it even less expensive to produce. Episodic dramas are going the way of the MOW.
I’m surprised it took this long. The episode on Friday must have been written and produced by people who know nothing about the law. Though, to be fair, I don’t know how much better Dateline will fare against Blue Bloods.
Is Undercovers next? Talk about no bang for your buck.
Just cancel the whole lot of NBC shows now – The Event, Chase, The Apprentice, Leno, Outsourced…I’ve tried watching the new and the old on this network and it all seems like it’s poorly done. The new programs are bad and the returnees seem tired and worn out. I won’t watch anymore. (Although the single worst show on TV is on CBS – Shit My Dad Says.)
There’s one thing worth watching on NBC – Jimmy Fallon. He used to suck but man, a few months ago somebody flipped a switch and the guy is suddenly good.
Oh, and the most overrated show on TV is Hawaii Five-O on CBS. I like it, don’t love it.
eh, you sound a lil douchey when you say the old and new are unwatchable, considering Chuck is one of the top notch shows on tv.
As are Community and 30 Rock
I feel bad for Jimmy Smits. It’s not his fault that the scripts were astonishingly bad (and that’s being kind) and that the premise was absurd. He’s a true star, and hopefully he’ll get another show soon!
I agree. Just looked up who wrote the episodes, They were all written by the same two people. The Creator and one of the Co-Executive producers. If that kind of writing is what ran the show, no wonder it was so bad. Makes you wonder if the show could have been better had someone else penned an episode though.
“It’s not his fault that the scripts were astonishingly bad (and that’s being kind) and that the premise was absurd.”
But it is his fault that he decided to sign on to the series when he knew both of those things. He knew what the premise of the show was. He saw the pilot script. Presumably, he also would have asked about what scripts were planned in subsequent episodes. So he should have known that this was an atrociously bad series. I don’t feel sorry for him at all.
The pilot script hardly ‘sucked’. In fact it was pretty good.
The show itself wasn’t perfect, but it was fairly decent, one of the best new shows out there, though that’s not saying a lot.
NBC would have cancelled this anyways, they were just looking to be done with Conan.
Right on Fred R. Fallon has really come into his own. More talent is his pinky than Leno has in his entire jaw. You can also add The Whole Truth as another yawner. Sh*t is exactly that – a waste of Mr. Shatner’s talents.
Maybe networks will start realizing that they shouldn’t keep casting the same TV Veterans to headline new shows each season. Jimmy Smits has had a good run. But it’s time he stopped headlining shows and focus on roles like the one he had on “Dexter”.
Only a few actors like Tom Selleck have strong fan bases who will watch them in anything. But every year it seems like the same group of actors with previous TV success are cast in new projects to mixed results.
Time to start bringing in new blood. And networks should start trying to break new stars. You have promising younger actresses like Katie Cassidy who should be doing more high profile work, stuck as a guest on “Gossip Girl” after single-handedly carrying the sinking ship that was the “Melrose Place” remake.
I tried watching “Outlaw” but it was just uninteresting. It’s no wonder it was canceled because it was so different than what NBC is trying to promote. The next move NBC should make is talking to JJ about doing a soft reboot of “Undercovers” (the way the post Superbowl Episode of “Alias” cleaned up some complications that turned away new viewers) in an effort to bring more excitement and interest to that show. Cause it’s next on the NBC hitlist if it doesn’t change.
It’s a funny thing about UNDERCOVERS. The leads look great together, but for some odd reason they don’t have enough sizzle to carry this show. The overall plots are meh, at best. And it’s ironic that the USA Network does this kind of light sexy action show way, way better. Maybe Abrams should steal some BURN NOTICE writers or something?
You are right, the leads do look great together. But I think rather than push the sexy, they should raise the stakes and ramp up the action. The show doesn’t work as a sexy comedy. He has the chance to correct the wrongs of the later seasons of “Alias” here. They should change the tone to get more serious.
Either way, the show will be gone by midseason if nothing is done to stop the bleeding.
I think the only time my TV is turned to NBC is for the morning news followed by The Today Show.
But I do remember a time when NBC was practically all I watched. Thank god Zucker is leaving.
Wait, this was a real show?!!? I thought this was Conan’s attempt to exact revenge upon the schmucks at NBC. The premise of this show was ridiculous and perhaps Eisendrath’s agent should actually show up at the office once in a while and provide his client with legitimate feedback about his writing.
Wasn’t a terrible show and had a likeable cast. Smits can’t seem to find a hit post-NYPD Blue as Cane was swiftly canned last season.
Now just cancel the entire Thusday night lineup NBC
Community, 30 Rock and the Office are the only shows I watch on NBC. Along with Parks & Rec, they are top-notch, non-pandering comedies.
I got bored after 10 minutes.
I would watch Jimmy Smits in ANYTHING he does…he’s charming and handsome and a tremendous actor. He can absolutely carry a show…but the writing needs to be there, plain and simple. He’ll have another chance…and I’ll be there front and center to watch and support!
“he’s charming and handsome and a tremendous actor. He can absolutely carry a show”
This is the problem. Jimmy Smits thinks so too and it shows!He needs to do more co-starring and bit parts. The premise of the show kind of sucks too… You have an actor with a public perception of an oversized ego, playing a character who is the same, plus knows everything about the law.
Tone down the “I’m a retired Supreme Court Judge” bit, dress down the character with business casual type clothes, take away the money that the character has and it make him a PI. Maybe on Hawaii, living on someone’s estate, driving their Ferrari…Oh wait, it’s been done BY THE STAR OF BLUE BLOODS LOL LOL!!
I agree with you 100%. I was upset when “Cane” was cancelled last year. I want to see again on a good TV show.
Too bad. Everyone involved brought their best to Outlaw except for two parties: NBC who’s ONLY act of promotion for this show was premiering it behind America’s Got Talent which delivered a fine audience –which brings us to the second party: the writers. They’re the ones that squandered the audience’s attention.
Awhhh, I really liked this show. I think Friday night at 10 was bad time slot.
Agreed–OUTLAW has a good premise–”right-wing judge realizes what justice is truly about”–and the individual episodes had intriguing plots. The supporting cast needs a bit of shaping up however–they aren’t nearly as entertaining or snappy as THE GOOD WIFE crew. But the basics were here for a decent middle-weight show. A shame NBC gave it such a lousy time slot.
is Outsourced next?
Nothing against Smits. Good actor. But of its three law projects, NBC should have gone with Rex is Not Your Lawyer. Promising project. Funny, great tone, great cast.
I might be nuts, but I think Rex would have been the highest-rated new show in the 18-49 demo. It would certainly have been the best-reviewed new show.
Oh thank goodness there are no “ZOMG! THIS IS A CONSPIRACY AGAINST CONAN!!!!” comments.
I guess not everything Conan touches turns to gold!
NBC should just go ahead and cancel every single show it airs … none are worth the airtime ..Chuck, Chase, The Event, Undercovers, Outsourced blah blah snip them all, nobody watches them. NBC’s only saving grace is the Office and that will die this season.
Comcast will have fun with its new network.
i think most people would rather save “30 rock” than “the office”…
To all you commenters who insist Jimmy Smits can “carry” a show. Let’s not go with personal opinions; let’s go with facts. He was part of an ensemble on “L.A. Law.” He joined established hits “NYPD Blue” and “The West Wing.”
The two series he has tried to carry by himself (“Cane” last year and now “Outlaw”) have failed.
That’s three people. Now CBS has to cancel Shit My Dad Says and we’ll have one from each top four. Next up is Shit, The Good Guys, Undercovers, Chase or The Whole Truth. Here’s hoping it’s Shit.
Was Conaco really Conan’s or really David Kissinger’s? Either way: Did Kissinger ever take Conan home to Dad, and, if so, what was that like? Why don’t we get a sitcom about that?
Smits’ finest work is still Blake Edwards’ Switch — you could really tell how difficult it was for him to be lusting after this hot Ellen Barkin babe, yet knowing that she used to be his male best friend. It’s a dilemma!