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NBC is stopping production on new legal drama Outlaw while keeping the show on the air. Starting tomorrow, the freshman series will go on production hiatus while the network monitors closely its ratings performance. Eight episodes of Outlaw have been produced; 3 of them have already aired, with 5 more in the can. If there is a ratings uptick in the next 2 weeks, production on the show will be restarted. If not, it will become permanent.
The drama pilot starring Jimmy Smits as a Supreme Court justice with a gambling problem who leaves the bench to become a private attorney was a dark horse during the development process and surprised some when it landed a series order in May. It hails from Conan O’Brien’s once NBC-based production company Conaco. 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, drawing a 1.1 demo ratings and 5 million viewers during premiere week and a 1.0 rating, 4.5 million last Friday. While several new NBC series have performed lower than expected, the network is yet to pull any series off the air though it had been mulling potential scheduling moves.
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Wow! What a great idea. In fact – Smiley Bromstad & her lame team should consider doing that with ALL of their new shows – and while you’re at it – do the same with “Parenthood”, “Biggest Loser” and many others.
Steve Burke – HELLO! Just freeze everything for now – especially development. Buy up some “I Love Lucy” episodes or “Alice” or “Saved By The Belle”(for variety sake), even “Seinfeld” and you will pretty much guarantee a bigger rating and far less expense. Who in their right mind would want a “go” deal on a pilot right now when anyone that said “go” will be “gone” by the time it’s done?
Steve Burke isn’t doing anything. He can’t run the station until comcast buys the network. IMO they should just cancel all of their low rated shows and bring in their midseason’s and see if they can cut the mustard. The problem is their shows suck.
“…”cut the mustard”…
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Bite your tongue about
arenthood”, every person I’ve randomly or intimately mentioned this show to loves it as much as I do!
No, I am not “privi’ed” to ratings, however, the problem is the silly rating’s war all the networks are fighting. Why put a new show up against beloved, award winning shows when there are seven days of the week in which the lives people live are not as they were in the 50′s “for Pete’s sake!”.
There is enough room for all and as a person whom watches tv every evening of the week most of the time due to chronic illness, well, I don’t find one day more valued than the other & neither should your advertisers!
Lots of great shows died off due to this “let’s bring down the proven winners”, however, it’s a new age and a good show will die if the loyal watchers are made to choose..even Tivo has it’s limits!
Just give them a time slot to see who would really get hooked, BOOM there’s your answer!
I tried watching some of the premiere, but couldn’t make it through the first ten minutes. I kept getting this vibe that the show was Conan’s revenge on NBC.
NBC should try moving it. Friday nights at 10pm is the worst time of the whole entire schedule. I think NBC should give it a chance.
Blue Bloods doesn’t seem to have a problem with that time slot.
Jimmy Smits is great, but the premise of the show was nonsensical from the get-go.
It ain’t the slot. Who cares about an ex-Supreme Court Judge going back to regular old practicing? Oooo, he’s a maverick! What about the other way around maybe? Put a show like that on cable where they can say “shit” @ 10PM and deal with Damagesque-intrigue in DC.
The Tonight Show with Conan O’ Brien was his revenge on NBC.
And how is suggesting airing shows that will get TV Land size ratings a good idea?
Suggestions to the network bigwigs:
* Has the network thought about changing the show’s timeslot?
* It may be a good show, but people aren’t using their PIP/DVR so they can see both.
* have Jimmy give up on city life, move show to Tyler Tx and he can litigate Tech Companies’ patent lawsuits…
* try an original idea– like a divorced anthroplogy professor (see: ‘Divided We Stand’ 1987).
* viewers like Brit stuff, so just buy a BBC/ITV show.
Congrats. You’ve now found way to get lower than TV Land ratings.
When it comes back with the alien that lives up Smit’s character’s ass, I think that the alien should speak Esperanto, and that NBC should run sub-titles, so that it appears artsy and hip.
So sad to see this show go the way of the Dodo. Smits’ character had many layers yet to be explored; it wasn’t your typical lawyer show. The template for Blue Bloods is OK but not quite there. Just reinforces the fact that “we” can’t invest in any new show until it gets a full pick-up.
I am NOT a fan of Jimmy Smits…I am a fan of Tom Selick…However Jimmy Smits’ show was the better of the two! I am broken hearted to see it is off the air…It was the best of the “new shows”…BRING IT BACK…PLEASE!
Too bad for Jimmy S. He’s one of the nicest, most professional guys in all Hollywood.
I’ve enjoyed the show and am sorry to see it go. Last week’s episode was a great episode of television. Too bad the network isn’t behind it, because it’s much better than LOLA.
Last week’s episode was great – the show needs time to establish its audience. Jimmy Smitts is so likable – NBC needs to support the show and maybe move the timeslot. Give it a chance, at least. I loved it and thought the writing for last week’s episode was very clever.
If only Jimmy was the star of LOLA.
Come on people, this is mediocre TV at its very best. The NBC team is truly a mess and Angela Bromstad has proven to do what every other network executive except Kevin Reilly has done, program by committee. If there’s a whiff of Bob Greenblatt hovering around NBC, please allow him to bring the peacock back to a state much more in line with its history.
This is a great show, along with The Whole Truth. Hope they both make it through.
Seriously….will people learn…stop putting Jimmy Smits on TV. Nobody cares about him. HE CANNOT CARRY A SERIES!
Jimmy Smits can’t carry a TV show? Are you completely nuts?? Even if the show had no lines or plots to follow, and Jimmy just stood there or moved around on the screen, women by the millions would tune in just to look at him! the network should have left the show where it was and not moved it to Fridays. Jimmy can be seen on my TV anytime!
Networks have got to go all in, or not at all. This half-assed commitment is ridiculous. And learn to do some marketing that works and speaks to the target group… geez. Marketing and PR 101 people. Aside from that, move the blasted show to a time slot that makes sense! Do they really think it will survive there when other shows with far more network support and backbone have not?
Let the NBC bashing begin. Why did they give the go ahead to this show in the first place is beyond me, the pilot was DOA.
The people that greenlight shows for NBC should be fired on the spot. NBC could do better, maybe hire Leslie Mooves on a part time basis to choose the pilots for them.
This was never a show – it was someone insulated insider’s idea of what a show should be. It was a silly concept. If it had been played for laughs NBC might have had something – Barney Miller meets Night Court. Shows a total lack of homework into what people watch. Sorry for Smits who is quite a nice guy.
I hope the network reconsiders… And it’s all about scheduling! I am going to start TIVOing.
Their biggest mistake was in picking up this show over Rex Is Not Your Lawyer. They never should have let David Tennant go. For the life of me I don’t know what the big deal is about Smits.
HEY, COME ON PEOPLE! give it a chance… how can we love characters we barely know? we are getting to know them and the show is getting better. CONCENTRATE of the court cases and the law and less on the high school romance feeling that permeates the background. you are exploring great topics- dig deeper and we will follow.
Maybe studios and actors should reconsider spouting their politics.
Soon as we discovered he was a left wing nut we took it off the recorder and won’t watch it or his sponsors. Have no intention of putting money in the pockets of any of these people to use against we conservatives. We’re only 2 families and sent out e-mails and facebook along with talking to other families. The rock is rolling and it’s downhill hitting other rocks. Give us entertainment and keep your sex lives and politics to yourselves. Use to watch Smits every week. No longer allowed on our t.v…..We got Hollyweird beat.
WE KNOW HOW AND ENJOY READING AND PLAYING GAMES…NOW DOWN TO 5 SHOWS A WEEK…ALL 7 DAYS…AWFUL LOT OF OTHER THINGS TO DO IN LIFE THAN AN IDIOT BOX…
Must post ranty comment about liberals working in media, watch only five hours of FOX NEWS a day. HAVE SEX LIFE IN MY FAMILY AND POLITICS. Prince Poppycock, BONKERS, CAPS LOCK. ENJOY READING, but not TYpinG.
Another disaster for Ed Chung. Not surprising.
I watched the first episode and determined then to stop watching it for the same reason I stopped watching Law & Order. I get enough of that liberal claptrap from the President and Congress and don’t need it when I want to be entertained.
If I were a network exec, I would, in no uncertain terms, tell Hollywood to keep their liberal politicking out of my programming. Then some of these otherwise decent programs would have a chance.
I agree – no liberal politics in anything!
No politics period, just entertain!
Call if you need ideas.
Rush & Sean
You think Law & Order, the most gung-ho “cops & DAs are never wrong” franchise in TV history, is a liberal show? The show where nobody ever deserves parole, because every criminal who’s ever been put away needs to stay behind bars for life without remission? Have you ever watched that show, ever?
As for Outlaw, I saw the first episode and was not impressed. I was looking forward to David Tennant in Rex is Not Your Lawyer, but I guess NBC only wanted one attorney show and went with Smits for some reason. Maybe they’ll call Tennant back for midseason? Or maybe they’ll infuriate MainStreet by adding Law & Order: UK to their lineup? There are twenty or so episodes already bought and paid for, although the accents are pretty thick.
It WAS an interesting concept that failed immediately in its execution.
I’ll watch pretty much anything Jimmy Smits does — he always owns the screen — but this quickly became yet another boring courtroom drama that quickly forgot its raison d’être.
Someone needs to create a good vehicle for Smits. He was terrific as Matt Santos in TWW and also on Dexter.
The problem started when show creator and whiney Chicago brat John Eisendrath made a big announcement on set that no one should touch a word of his writing. Gold! Don’t touch it! There’s a way to stick to your vision but still collaborate with lesser humans than you, Johnny.