What bearing, if any, will tonight’s Being Erica season finale number have on how many episodes will be ordered next season?
Officials at CBC have already indicated that fewer episodes of the rookie fantasy/drama will be ordered for next season. That means fewer than the 13 that will have aired this year, although how many fewer is still in question.
Last night’s so-so showing for the Wild Roses finale leaves the future of that horse opera in doubt. CBC touted it in a colour ad in Tuesday’s Toronto Star as “Wild Roses. Tonight, everything will end with a bang.” Instead, it ended with a whimper with just 413,000 viewers tuning in opposite CTV powerhouse American Idol, off its season average of 471,000. Worse, just 44,000 of that total were women 18-49 according to BBM NMR overnight estimates. In Calgary, where it is set and produced, only 7000 viewers 25-54 tuned in. American Idol (40,000) and NCIS (31,000) scored much higher in the demo with no hometown connection.
Erica‘s finale finally deals with the storyline that most intrigued me when I interviewed star Erin Karpluk and the producers way back last November–the sudden death of Erica Strange’s younger brother Leo (Devon Bostick). This was supposed to come up earlier in the series but was held back as a more impactful finale. The promo clips give away that time traveler Erica leaps back in time on the day of her brother’s death and it looks like she can’t quite keep her promise to Dr. Tom (Michael Riley) not to meddle in the lad’s fate. It is a gripping and emotional premise, one that should bring out the best in Karpluk and this hot and cold series. Look for it tonight at 9 p.m. on CBC.
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3 Comments
Thanks for the numbers.
Note to the CBC executive scheduling prime time. Why are you airing the finale of Wild Roses one week after the season finale of your highest rated entertainment program thus giving it a repeat lead in? You know it’s up against the American Idol and Dancing with the Stars, so why not give it a chance at some decent numbers and pair it with new programming.
I would really like to see them stick with Wild Roses and Being Erica and not pull another jPod. Perhaps they should think about airing these shows in the fall season and air the bigger budget and higher profile series like the Tudors and Doctor Who in the spring against American Idol.
Couldn’t agree more Anthony. Wild Roses is a good show that had an unfortunate, weak pilot, and was treated by the CBC like a bastard child. It boggles my mind that they would spend that kind of money and then let the show go into it’s finale behind a repeat. Up against American Idol all season long, it’s a miracle Wild Roses averaged half a million viewers an episode. It deserves better.
The only reason I was keeping my expanded cable was so I could watch Being Erica.
Now with episode 109 I will be saving money each month!
I will be cancelling it!
It is not worth compromising my values and morals to allow that in my home.
Very sorry that they yet again had to ruin another “would-have-been-great” show just to be politically correct!