October
22
"Viva Laughlin" officially craps out, gets canceled
The last fall skein to bow is the first to bow out. CBS' music-drama hybrid "Viva Laughlin" has been axed after just two episodes. The network moved swiftly after both outings of the series — and only one in its official timeslot — performed dismally.
There's no way to spin these numbers. "Viva Laughlin" was a non-starter for America.
Skein's first airing in its regular Sunday 8 p.m. time slot drew 7.6 million viewers and 1.2 rating/3 share in the adults 18-49 demographic, per prelim Nielsens. That was coming out of 11.1 million viewers and 2.2/6 for "60 Minutes." The worst stat was how fast the "Laughlin" numbers fell at the half-hour mark, plunging from 7.6 million viewers and 1.4/3 in the first half to 6 million and 1.0/2 in the 8:30-9 p.m. leg.
This has to be a tough one for the folks toiling over at CBS TV City, particularly CBS Entertainment chief Nina Tassler, who went out on a limb in championing the show. Chalk it up to an experiment that didn't work, but good for the musical theater-loving Tassler for having the courage of her convictions and having the guts to take a flier on something she believed in.
NBC's football and Fox's baseball coverage upset the usual Sunday apple cart ratings-wise, but one success story that's emerging on the night is ABC's drama "Brothers and Sisters" in its sophomore sesh. The 10 p.m. drama is holding a good chunk of its "Desperate Housewives" lead-in (last night "Brothers" averaged 11.9 million viewers and 4.8/11 to "Housewives'" 17.7 million and 7.1/16), and IMHO is a whole lot more watch-able than its flashier companion.
--Cynthia Littleton
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I beg disagree--the show was a bore and I sat through it fighting the urge to close my eyes or change channels. It was terrible. I am not sure what was wrong, but perhaps Melanie Griffith was part of the problem. The characters were overwrought, overplayed and overacted. But more than anything, it was the bore element. Nothing made a viewer give a damn about any one character.
Posted by: Lucy Diaz | October 23, 2007 at 04:30 PM
I loved the show. They didn't even give it a chance!! I agree with at least finishing the murder story so we know who did it!
Posted by: Debby | October 23, 2007 at 06:22 AM
They did not give this a fair shot. It didn't belong on Sunday night either. It is not a failure of the show - it is a failure of the network.
Posted by: Sylvia Berman | October 22, 2007 at 05:12 PM
I think CBS should at least finish the story so we can find out who the murder was etc.. I kinda liked it the story line and music made it different I dont think that they should just take it off after the 2nd show.. GEEZ
Posted by: margherita | October 22, 2007 at 01:39 PM