The Steven Spielberg produced TV dinosaur drama Terra Nova has been cancelled by the head honcho’s at Fox TV after just one season.
Starring Jason O’Mara and Stephen Lang the TV show was one of the most hyped shows in recent years but it failed to bring in the type of massive ratings numbers needed to justify its mammoth production costs which included lavish sets, CGI created dinosaurs and a rather large supporting cast. The estimated cost for the series’ two-hour long premiere has been estimated between $10 million and $20 million, a cost Fox was convinced they would earn back over the shows first season.
While Fox may have decided to ditch the show its producer 20th Century Fox TV plans on shopping around the dinosaur featured series for a potential new home.
Terra Nova averaged just 7.5 million views with just 2.6 million of those viewers following into the advertiser favored 18-49 demographic. While the series only aired 11 episodes its two-hour season finale brought in a series low in the demo with a 2.1 rating among the 18-49 demographic with an audience of just 7.2 million viewers.
The show appeared to be on the way out after actors and producers began taking other jobs. For example Stephen Lang took a three-episode arc on USA Network’s In Plain Sight and executive producer Jon Cassar worked on an installment of the new show Touch which stars 24 actor Keifer Sutherland .
Terra Nova’s premiere drew in 9.2 million total viewers.
Do you think Fox executives made the right decision in cancelling Terra Nova or should they have given it a better chance to find a larger audience?
