‘The Bridge’ season 3: Does Diane Kruger – Demian Bichir series have shot at renewal?

Wednesday night marks the big season finale for “The Bridge,” but you do have to wonder if this could also mark the series finale for a show that at one point felt like it could be one of FX’s next big hits.

Let’s do our best to set up the landscape right now for the show, starting with its own ratings. The numbers for season 2 have paled in comparison to what the show drew back in 2013. Around the midway point there were episodes literally drawing half of the total viewers of the first time around, even though we have seen the series close the gap somewhat the past couple of weeks.

Really, we see there being two major reasons why the show may be in trouble.

• FX renewed “Tyrant” and “The Americans,” but they both performed slightly better as a whole. In addition, one of them is a show just starting to find itself, and the other is critically-acclaimed and frequently in awards discussions.
• Content-wise, the story on “The Bridge” this year has been over-complicated and muddled. We would have preferred something a little more simplified, and not were there were so many issues and storylines that the show was trying to juggle. Stories such as the ones with Charlotte and Stephen never seemed to have any real payoff.

The one thing that is helping “The Bridge”? That “Sons of Anarchy” and “Justified” are both ending, and FX may want to keep a few dramas around just in case all of their new ideas bomb completely. Disappointing ratings are in the end a whole lot better than woeful ones.

What do you want to see moving forward on “The Bridge” beyond this season? Let us know right now with a comment.