‘Wayward Pines’ premiere ratings: Trying to understand Fox’s scheduling

We really wanted to see “Wayward Pines” have an opportunity to become a real hit, and there were really a number of different reasons for that. We have always been at least somewhat a supporter of M. Night Shyamalan, or at least we were before “The Happening” came out. We know that the man has talent, and there are some cool things about his new limited series on Fox.

However, what we cannot figure out for the life of us is why the network thought launching the show with a special airing during May sweeps, and against the finale of “The Blacklist” and “Scandal,” was a great idea. It was buried with a 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic, and while we know that they are replaying the premiere next week (they obviously knew that poor ratings were a possibility), we still do not entirely understand what the ultimate motivation was for this here. Why not just wait and promote the show completely for next week?

If nothing else, there is still a chance the becomes at least a decent summer success, but we’re not holding our breath at this point. Summer TV is not typically a medium that tends to gain audience over time; just look at the ratings for “24: Live Another Day” last year as an example.

For those curious (and since we did not do a full ratings article for Thursday), “Scandal” (2.3) and “The Blacklist” (1.6) both were down significantly in their finales this year versus what we saw the year before.

What do you think about some of these specific numbers, and do you think “Wayward Pines” still has a chance? Share now with a comment, and head over here if you are curious in getting some other TV updates right away on everything we cover, sent right to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Fox.)