It’s always heartbreaking when a show gets cancelled that you believe has a certain magic to it, a certain spirit, a certain chemistry that could never be reassembled (conjured?) again even with all the budget and time in the world. It’s even more crushing in a way when very few people have been watching it, because you’re able to take “ownership” of it all the more.
Tom Gliatto of The Huffington Post reflects this feeling in writing: “Terriers, which lasted exactly one season on FX, was the best network series to debut this fall, and I and its apparently not large audience will miss and mourn it.”
I actually didn’t feel that way about Terriers. I liked it and thought it had flashes of great potential at times, but I feel the “loss” more for TV Geek Army contributor Mike Proper, who has been covering the show through its first (and last) season.
Alan Sepinwall covers FX’s unusual decision to hold a conference call to discuss the decision to cancel the show, and adds, “I honestly cannot remember anything like this happening before.” Here’s the killer indictment: "You could have doubled the ratings," he told us, "and it still would have been the lowest-rated show we've ever had."
Many felt that the name of the show coupled with a marketing campaign that focused more on a little dog baring its fangs than its two lead actors did much to kill its chances from the outset. TV Squad reports that FX President John Landgraf “took issue with the idea that the show's name or marketing had anything to do with its poor ratings. He said that the billboards featuring the dog (and not the show's stars) were only seen by residents of New York and the west side of Los Angeles.”I disagree with Landgraf as I personally felt sure (and please put quotes around that word if you like) that the offbeat television ads were presaging a show that was going to focus on smalltime detective jobs and quirky comedy. Therefore I was taken aback when the tone of the show trended into fairly dark territory over the first several episodes.
Here’s what Mike Proper had to say about “Hail Mary,” the season/series finale (which was written before the final decision to cancel was made):
If "Hail Mary" turns out to be the very last Terriers episode (and by all accounts, this will be the case), then Ted Griffin and Shawn Ryan and Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James and everyone involved with the show should be exceptionally proud of themselves. They put together what will be remembered in the future as one of the best one-and-done seasons of television in the history of the medium.
Hyperbolic, maybe, but if you actually sat down and watched the whole season, you'd be hard pressed to come up with a reason to disagree with me.
Check out all of our coverage of Terriers, and let us know what your feelings were about the show in the comments.
Also take note that Terriers creator Shawn Ryan is planning to hold a “Twitter wake” on December 15th at 7pm PST/10pm EST and 10pm PST/1am EST.
Please don't cancel Terriers, it is one of my favorite shows. How sad.
VERY SAD THAT TERRIERS IS CANCELLED. IT WAS A GREAT SHOW.
Terriers was spot-on writing, acting and direction. The characterizations, the naturalness of all the actors, the ebb and flow of re-curring storylines to create it's increasing intrigue... this was by far my favorite show of the season and I am frickin' PISSED it is already canned. One step forward, two steps back, FX.
Finally FX comes out with an awesome show that I like and they cancel it. I don't get it Terriers was a great show.
AHHHHH! NOOOO! Is this happening because I didn't get cable and only watched it on Hulu? I knew I should have gotten cable. This show is gooood.
cancelled??? what??? this is a great, great show.
Hey guys! I just started a fan page for Terriers on Facebook! Please be sure to add yourself as a friend and tell friends and family!!!! with any luck, FX will pull their heads out of their anal canals.
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=6&uid=112254132176163#!/pages/Bring-back-Terriers-to-FX/112254132176163
if you are a true fan, and want to see a potential future in the show... I and your fellow friends would appreciate it
IT ALL HELPS OUT (:
NoOOOOOOOO! Come on FX, wake up! This show was well-written, sparky, mile-a-minute funtertainment. Great tune, (nice one, Rob Duncan) and superlative performances from the leads - guys who can cry AND punch you out - fantastic stuff!
If Donal Logue and Michael Raymond James can't get this re-instated, then I'll have to jump off the Coronado Bridge in my cheerleader outfit and hope I have Claire Bennet's unbreakable ability. Hang on, that's gonna sting....okay, I'll swallow this loss if Donal Logue and Rockmond Dunbar play Hap and Leonard in the Joe Lansdale movies and Michael Raymond James comes over to console me...
Simply said... that sucks. Crap shows like "American Idol" and reality dance shows... So sad. Has American thought declined so much that a show with a story fails?
Love seeing all the emotion and passion about Terriers!
Can believe "Cougar Town" got up until 2 seasons and something so great like this was canceled. I blame the marketing team for this. I would wait everyweek to watch this show. Stupid marketing team
Come on FX, Terriers is one of the most entertaining shows on the air. I could list the other four if you wish. With so little to choose from you should re-consider cancelling it. Remember x-files. That show didn.t break any records just out of the gate.
This was a great show and I was looking forward to Season 2. You've got to be kidding me. So few shows today are this well written and acted. It should have been given at least a second season to establish an audience. It could have been one of the great ones.
Dave I'm having similar thoughts today with regard to the cancellation of The Chicago Code and Breaking In. While neither are necessarily great as yet, they both showed great potential.