(FOX)
The 9-1-1 show’s disasters will keep coming but not on FOX. The network has opted not to renew its highest-rated show, so it’s moving over to ABC for its seventh season.
A procedural drama series created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear, the 9-1-1 TV show stars Angela Bassett, Peter Krause, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Oliver Stark, Kenneth Choi, Aisha Hinds, Ryan Guzman, Corinne Massiah, Marcanthonee Jon Reis, and Gavin McHugh. Inspired by real-life experiences of first responders, this show centers on the police officers, firefighters, and dispatchers who are thrust into the most frightening, shocking, and heart-stopping situations. These emergency responders must try to balance saving those at their most vulnerable and solving the problems in their own lives.
On Monday nights, the sixth season of 9-1-1 averages a 0.61 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 4.77 million viewers in the live+same day ratings (includes all DVR playback through 3:00 AM). Compared to season five, that’s down by 20% in the demo and down by 8% in viewership. In the live+7 day ratings, the show picks up more than 50% more viewers.
While FOX’s move to cancel its highest-rated rated show might seem crazy, it actually makes sense, given the changing television landscape. Fewer and fewer people are watching shows via linear networks, and 9-1-1’s production company, 20th Century Television, and FOX are no longer under the same corporate umbrella. The first-responder drama costs $9-10 million an episode to produce and it’s just too expensive for FOX since they don’t share in the series’ long-term profits.
Disney owns 20th Century TV and ABC, and also controls Hulu, where 9-1-1 is a top performer. Last year, the renewals of 9-1-1 and The Resident came down to the wire because of economics. This year, they’ve both been cancelled.
“Thanks to the creative drive of Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear, as well as the talented cast, 9-1-1 has been one of the most defining and original dramas on network television over the last six seasons and we are honored to bring it to the esteemed group of series on ABC,” said Craig Erwich, president, Disney Television Group. “It’s a privilege to keep 9-1-1 in the family with 20th Television producing, and we look forward to telling more heart-racing and uplifting stories about these beloved characters on our air.”
Meanwhile, the 9-1-1: Lone Star series has been renewed for a fifth season on FOX. It remains to be seen if viewers will get any more crossovers.
What do you think? Do you enjoy watching the 9-1-1 TV series on FOX? Are you glad the series has been renewed for a seventh season, but on ABC? Were you expecting the series to be cancelled?