Fox has officially announced that it will not be picking up a second season of it’s dinosaur, time-traveling, big-budget series Terra Nova.
The network confirmed to The Wrap that 20th Century Fox Television, the studio behind the series, is currently looking for a new network home for the show.
The series got off to a rocky start with a constantly ballooning budget and a canceled preview in May 2011.They had planned to have it preview the same way Glee did to great susccess, but that ultimately had to be pushed back and then cancelled altogether.
The show drew unimpressive ratings with the premiere nabbing a respectable 3.1 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic and 9.2 million total viewers, but dropped off to a 2.2 rating/6 share with its December season finale.
With the budget so high, and the ratings so average, it’s no surprise that the show is done and I would be very shocked to see it return at all. A big budget for network television is astronomical for cable networks, which is why we haven’t seen a resurgence from Firefly and other science fiction fare that was beloved by fans.
While this may seem like bad news for genre fans, it actually may be good news for fans of other Fox shows. With the programming space available, this gives Fringe and Alcatraz a fighting chance. While they may not have the desired audience numbers, they certainly have a strong and vocal audience that will fight for their show. Plus, their budgets are much more sustainable than Terra Nova‘s was. With the clearing of Terra Nova, there’s certainly less pressure there for them to exceed expectations.
What FOX show do you hope gets renewed – Fringe or Alcatraz? Or if something else, share it in the comments!
