‘Halt and Catch Fire’ season 2: Renewal prospects, expectations, and more
Tonight, AMC’s “Halt and Catch Fire” will conclude its first-season run, but before this episode even airs the following question has to be asked: Is it possible that we will even see a season 2?
If we were to go on the logic of ratings alone, the answer here would be that it seems unlikely. Its numbers in total are lower than “Turn,” which aired earlier this fall and received a renewal; they are more comparable to “Low Winter Sun,” which followed up the final season of “Breaking Bad” and was canceled. To be fair, “Low Winter Sun” was not airing on its own in the summer, which is a much harder challenge for this show. Its ratings are also lower than the first season of “Breaking Bad,” which is a benchmark that many like to use when discussing how AMC in its early days kept low-rating shows around and allowed them to grow.
While this is a show that we and many other critics particularly enjoy, there are financial considerations to think about here. If the ratings are not high enough to justify a cost, we may not see a whole lot more of it. That would be a shame here, though, given that we cannot envision a fitting end to Joe MacMillan’s story based on one episode tonight. As recently as last week, he was kicked around by the revelation that Apple had beaten him to the punch in terms of innovation.
The one hope that the show has of coming back is that AMC has some faith that it can discover more viewers over the coming months, and therefore have another kick at the can next year to see if there is improvement. One smart way to do this would be to make a deal with Netflix, get the show on there early, and allow people to binge-watch and catch up. Many credit the service with “Breaking Bad” being able to see its numbers skyrocket for the final eight episodes on the air, and this sort of thing has helped the fate of many other shows, as well.
What do you think: Should AMC give “Halt and Catch Fire” another chance, even if some of the numbers are not that outstanding? Share below.
angelicvh
August 4, 2014 @ 6:05 am
I want it to Catch Fire and come back!
orkro
August 4, 2014 @ 5:20 am
A lot of people have compared Halt and Catch Fire to other shows. That’s unfair. Its not Mad Men, although, it is a period piece, on the same network. Its not the HBO comedy Silicon Valley either. I’m not even sure the comparison to Breaking Bad is apt. Breaking Bad was unique. In-fact, any good AMC show, has been unique and unlike any other show, thus not comparable to any other show.
Any shows first season is about character development, and building a story. Later seasons delve into the story’s arch, or relationships. One thing this show did, that many other shows don’t do, until later seasons, is it took the story home, with the characters. Many shows focus on either work-life or home-life. In later seasons, they’ll delve into the characters other relationships, so if its a work-based-show, they’ll show what happens, when that character goes-home. Halt And Catch Fire has been as much about the office, as it has about the home.
Donna is an interesting character, because she doesn’t work in their office. She’s made appearances in their office, but she never really was an official employee, working on the Giant. Her character is based souly on her relationship to Gordon. Yet, her character was as dynamic as any of the others. Donna could have been a throw-away character. Certainly, her children, were throw-away characters. They replaced one of her kids, after the pilot, and no one noticed.
It’ll be interesting if they do have a second season. The show won’t be the same, if it is renewed. Everyone is off doing their own thing. The characters have all evolved. Halt and Catch Fire, did, in one season, what most shows do over a series of seasons. It not only setup the story, but built a story arch and took the story home. Those are all things, that writers wait to add, so they have someplace to go, in future seasons.
People love to compare this show to Breaking Bad, because like Breaking Bad, the ratings were low, the first season, and its unique. But, Halt and Catch Fire spanned a far greater amount of time. Some episodes picked-up right where the previous left-off, and others took place further in the future, so you could see the development of the Giant.
Breaking Bad had cliff-hangers, at the end of each season, but I don’t think it ever completely changed the direction. Vince Gilligan, had an idea of where he wanted the character to go, from the start. He had to figure-out how to get the characters there, and changes were made, along the way, like letting Jessie live, past the first few episodes of the first season, but really, any cliff-hanger was just used more to draw the user into the story and create a way to shift to the next part of the story.
The cliff-hanger, in Halt and Catch Fire, could just as easily serve as a series finale. I don’t want to spoil the show, for those who haven’t watched it, but it doesn’t really leave room for the second season to be like the first. I’ve enjoyed this show. I’d be curious to watch a second season, but it works just as well as a mini-series, as it does a long-running seasonal drama. It should be noted that Pace’s last big show, Pushing Daisy’s which had a devout fan-base, and was just as unique and original, only lasted two seasons. Sometimes, a show is so original and so unique, that it either never catches-on, or says all it has to say, in one or two seasons.
I enjoyed cast. I enjoyed the premise. I enjoyed the set design, even if some of the details weren’t authentic. I enjoyed the show. If they made a second season of Halt and Catch Fire, I’d watch.
Ultimately, I think, it may boil down, more to a business decision, than a fan decision. The ratings were poor, the first season. It did not get as much promotion, as some other series, at least, early on. It got more promotion, later in the series. Since Mad Men is coming to an end, there is a need for AMC to stay relevant and lock down properties that will keep fans tuning-in. Breaking bad ended and soon, Mad Men will be ending too. The network needs shows to replace these programs. Could Halt and Catch Fire be one of those shows? Maybe. It takes a lot of money to produce new shows. If they cancel Halt And Catch Fire, they will have to replace it with something else, and hope that show succeeds. They have a lot of competition from other networks, like FX and A&E, which have shows like Fargo and Bates Motel, which capture a similar audience. They also have a lot of competition from premium channels like HBO and Showtime, which capture a similar audience. Even networks, like Fox and CBS, have some engaging dramas. If AMC wants to compete, they need properties that draw-in viewers.
Fortunately, DVRs are getting bigger and bigger hard drives. DVRs are able to record more and more shows, at once. What does this mean? It means, that viewers don’t have to decide, whether or not to watch HBO or AMC. They can record both. This means, that while there is a lot of competition on other networks, even lower rated shows, like Halt And Catch Fire, can get viewers, when up against hugely popular Sunday shows, on HBO. DVRs even more than VCR’s, allow smaller, lower-rated shows, to gain viewership, when up against really popular shows on other networks. There are people who may not watch tonight’s episode until Monday, Tuesday, or even later in the week. Ratings really do not mean, what they used to.
It used to be that there were these Neilson families with either a box or a journal. In-fact, once upon a time, I was one of those Neilson families, with a journal. I would write-down what show I watched, on what channel, and at what time. This was back in the day, when VCR’s were popular. But, a VCR, only recorded one show, at a time. A DVR can record 2-6 shows, at a time, depending on how many TV tuners are in the machine. Channel times aren’t really relevant, if you’re watching it, at a later date. Viewership for that time-slot, aren’t relevant, if you’re watching it, at a later date. Even someone with a journal, may not write down, every show they recorded, and will watch later. They may only write the ones they watch live, not the ones they watch later. Also, there are a lot of people watching shows online, with apps, network websites, cable company apps/websites, and even streaming/torrents. Its very difficult to quantify all those viewers, from all of those sources. Shows like Halt And Catch Fire may appeal to a techie crowd, which uses technology, like websites, apps, streaming, torrents, and DVRs.
DVD sales used to be another factor in determining the success of a show. I remember buying all of the Family Guy Volumes on DVD. Then, I got Netflix, and stopped buying DVDs, because I could stream all the seasons. Breaking Bad is on Netflix. I don’t have to buy the DVD’s of Breaking Bad. I loved that show. Now I can watch any episode, anytime I want, on Netflix. AMC won’t see me purchasing the DVD’s so it may not know just how much I love the show. Netflix is rather tight lipped about giving-out details about which shows or films are popular. They closely guard ratings, and recommendation algorithms. So, even networks, don’t know, how many people are watching their shows. Netflix pays a royalty, to show, the show, but its a fixed-rate, its not per-view. Its more like a video store buying a film, and then, renting it an undisclosed number of times. The studio only records one sale, even though that one sale, is rented hundreds of times, from that video store.
So, when people say a show has low-ratings, that doesn’t really mean anything, anymore. Networks, are scared to death, to not know how many people are watching. They sell ads based-upon knowing those numbers. At best, they can give you a low number, and then, assume the actual number is far greater. It gets even more complicated, when shows start airing in other countries. Those ratings further complicate things. A show, like Halt and Catch Fire may do poorly in America but have a cult following in Finland, or Japan, which are both very technologically advanced. So, its unclear just how AMC will approach renewal. They need new shows, to replace series that are leaving the network. AMC doesn’t know the true ratings of a show, nor can they, with any certainty. Shows, even if they do well, and have a following, may not succeed, beyond an additional year. Sometimes, shows say everything they need to say in one or two seasons. Also, network execs change pretty regularly. All of a sudden, some new network exec will come-in and will gut the network, change everything, and try something new. Maybe it works, and maybe it doesn’t. Maybe, that exec will last a decade, or maybe, they’ll be gone in 6-months along with all their shows. They’re a genius if they succeed and a foot-note in history, if they fail. Its unclear whether or not the network will get behind this show. The network is made-up of people and people change. Whoever found this script, a year or so ago, and then developed it, casted the show, and created and tested the pilot, may not even be at the network, in a year. Things and people change very quickly, in this industry. Some shows, feel completely different, because whoever worked on the show, when it began, has left, and now its being run by someone completely different. Breaking Bad was unique, because it was one guys vision, from start to finish.
Vince Gilligan had worked on an episode of X-Files, called Drive, with Bryan Cranston. Cranston played a racist, with an alien in his head. If Mulder didn’t drive fast, the alien would explode and kill Cranston’s racist character. What was interesting about that episode is you really didn’t care if this person died. He was a horrible human being. It was Cranston’s performance that made you care about this horrible person’s life. Gilligan began working on Breaking Bad, as a pet project, after that. When he was ready to cast the show and shop it around to networks, he wanted Cranston. The entire show was based on a character who would become bad, but you wanted to root for him. It took that level of a relationship between a creator/writer and an actor to make that series successful. That’s incredibly rare, in a series. That being said I don’t think you can compare most shows, to Breaking Bad. It was one of a kind. That’s like shows being compared to Louie, or it’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Both of those shows were very unique, because of how they were created.. Louie C.K. has been a writer and film-maker, as long as he’s been a comedian, and he produces, writes, shoots, direct and edits his own shows. Sunny was and still is created by, written and performed by its cast. Shows need to be more than just unique and interesting. They need a strong team, behind the scenes, as well as a strong cast. Obviously, Halt And Catch Fire has some great set and costume design, and some pretty solid writing, but we’ll just have to wait and see if those staff stay with the show, if it is renewed.
Again, I hope it comes back, but we’ll have to wait and see. If it is cancelled, I enjoyed the show, while it lasted. I really do enjoy Lee Pace and I hope to see more of him.
Suferbus
August 4, 2014 @ 3:54 am
I love the show and really hope to see a second season. This show and its’ characters have room to grow and develop a viewer following that can rival Breaking Bad and Mad Men.
JerriG
August 4, 2014 @ 3:46 am
Love love this show….eye opening view into this arena.
Kim
August 4, 2014 @ 3:03 am
Yes, Please bring it back! It is awesome….
James M
August 4, 2014 @ 12:05 am
This show deserves a second chance to build its audience.
Mari Mortsfield
August 3, 2014 @ 11:25 pm
LOVED show!! Well written and interesting, smart, savvy dialogue with interesting characters and events! Bring it BACK!!
Mark Bender
August 3, 2014 @ 11:03 pm
Well, I thought the first few episodes were edge-of-your-seat fascinating. Each episode until recently was adorned with subtle, yet powerful symbology and humble nods to our tech predecessors. The roller coaster of emotions, hidden agendas, sneaky deals and callous back-stabbings are set to a phenomenal backdrop of impeccable stage dressing and a superb soundtrack.
More recent episodes have dropped much of the cerebral nature of the story in favor of one more suitably palatable to a duller, more general audience. Everybody get happy and join hands. Let’s all make one-liner jokes about tech “fads” that will never make it in the future like touch screens.
For me, the failure comes in the form of its homogenization of story formulation. It is now no different than any other series out there and is left only to 80’s kitsch, modern pop culture references. Hell, why don’t they just turn it into a comedy like Silicon Valley? This series started smart and edgy, but is ending soft and dim.
Anonymous4life
August 4, 2014 @ 2:00 am
Coming from the IT world my self reliving all these emotions and feelings for creation and enovation is something I can appriciate and understand entirely from the moment I touched my first computer at 6 years of age till this very day I will always love and enjoy any show that makes me remenice a ara of Music, tech, and Arcade. I hope they do bring a season 2 after all asking this very question brought me here in the first place ;)
Tim. G.
August 3, 2014 @ 6:47 pm
I certainly think that AMC should give Halt and Catch Fire another season. Although the first few episodes weren’t the best, the show really came into its own around the middle of the season. The last two episodes have been phenomenal. I anxiously await tonight’s finale.