‘The Messengers’ finale: Was a season 2 ever really in the cards for CW series?
Tonight, “The Messengers” is ending its run on The CW … and what an unheralded run it really was. This is not so much a fault of the cast, the writers, or anyone else who tried to make this series a success. Instead, we’re looking at how the show was treated by its own network.
“The Messengers”was a mere victim of some less-than-stellar circumstances. When it was first ordered, The CW may have felt that it would be a solid midseason replacement for a show that may have struggled somewhat in the ratings. However, they never really had that, since there was no show in the fall that bombed to the point that they needed to pull it off the air. “The Flash” was a smash hit right away, and while “Jane the Virgin” was not getting enormous ratings, it does have some sort of a critical following. No network wants to put a Golden Globe winning series on hiatus. Therefore, it was saddled in a timeslot on Friday nights (the hardest night that The CW programs) in late spring, a time when their young viewers are starting to spend more time outside as the weather becomes nicer.
What we’re saying here is that it had to be hard for the show to expect it to get a renewal for a second season, and it won’t. It was effectively canceled many weeks ago. For fans of the show, the only real gift is that it continued to air episodes until the finale.
Is there anything that The CW could have done differently? Personally we would have rather seen it delayed until summer and then have it paired with “Beauty and the Beast.” That way, we could’ve had a night of original programming, of two shows feeding off one another. Alas, it just wasn’t meant to be, but if you watch the show, we do hope you get to enjoy the finale!
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Eja355
September 14, 2015 @ 11:50 am
I like this Show I Hope Season 2 Will show
Miky Ricky
September 6, 2015 @ 10:59 am
I want season 222222222222222222
Jorge
July 28, 2015 @ 6:15 am
I’m totally agree with you. It’s all CW’s fault.
JB
July 27, 2015 @ 3:12 am
I’m wondering if the CW are simply going to forget this ever existed now all the episodes have aired. It’s the very definition of executive meddling, with only the basics in promoting it (the mandatory 30 second promo ad) and nothing saying that there would be that three week gap before the final three episodes. There don’t seem to be any repeats, and there’s no news of anything like a DVD release. At least they didn’t do a Fox and show the episodes in random order (Firefly) to discourage viewers.
It feels like they wanted something new to put up during the summer break when most shows have finished the current season,
Gayle Wing O'Donnell
July 25, 2015 @ 11:02 pm
I agree with what the author says…Whatever the CW’s original plan was, it didn’t favor success for The Messengers. The show was so good! Having it “cancelled” by the third episode only caused many to decide not to watch it to the end or to not even realize it would continue 13 episodes. Either way, any big increase in viewership was doomed. The writers, actors and all it took to make the series did excellent work!
I strongly hope that CBS studios, who filmed it and apparently have it now, will put some effort into getting it to some entity (Netflix? Another network?) that will give it a real chance. The audience who would make it a huge success isn’t necessarily the one who was paying attention to the CW.
Even with a new Vera character (as Shantel will now be on the Flash), the story could have some fabulous seasons to come!
Emily
July 31, 2015 @ 10:25 am
I strongly hope so too Gayle. The fandom has gone global and you get this emotional attachment to the characters. Erin and Raul drew me in and the rest is history. Each character had a story to tell and becoming a Messenger propelled them forward. It was the beginning of the end….. How can we leave Amy as the host to the the Devils domain. The Antichrist. Which according to script is male. But how did he come to be there. Did Rose, the Horsemen of Death find a way. Amy seemed to be the key to Erin and Raul coming together. But after Rose left her drawings became darker….. We have more questions than answers now that only another season or two can answer!!!!
GirlySuperherolover
July 25, 2015 @ 4:14 pm
This show had soooo much potential the writing and acting was phenomenal The CW I feel were never gonna let this show have a second season due to them not having a huge rating in the first episode, but whose fault is that? THE NETWORK’S! They did not advertise this show as much as they did The Vampire Diaries and The Flash and Arrow so of course no one really knew this show existed until about the second or third episode and right when fans began hyping the show and gathering in more viewership The CW cancelled the show. I really hope another network or Netflix or Hulu picks this show up and continue on this storyline I loved the characters and that cliffhanger was literally everything this show deserves a second chance and I would love it if the director, writers, and producers could take it to someone who will actually give this show another chance it already has a huge fanbase following so all they need is to get the actors back and start up a script because I need this show to come back it is so much better than that other stuff The CW has they they claim are “award winning” when the writing is terrible *cough cough* Julie Plec and The Vampire Diaries *cough cough* and the cast is the most diverse cast I have ever seen on a CW show ever.
Jorge
July 28, 2015 @ 6:21 am
Or like iZombie. iZombie was promoted in a commercial of TWD (WITH MILLIONS OF VIEWERS) They put all the money in that, not like The Messengers. AND with The Flash as part of the timeslot, more viewers. The Messengers… they had Fridays and Whose line…?.
The Messengers Fan
July 25, 2015 @ 1:42 pm
I loved the show and the acting was amazing :(((((((((((((((((((((
I WATCHED A LOT OF SERIES AND THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST ACTING SO FAR. I think people are really mean if they say otherwise, good job to everybody involved
Annie Smith
July 25, 2015 @ 6:22 am
I am VERY UPSET……I have the same feeling many others do..that they wouldn’t have become attached to the show if it was cancelled right out of the gate….I’m sure if that news was widely known there would’ve been 0 viewers…..so I am not happy nor satisfied (or liberating any thank-you’s) for how nice it was for the network to air the entire season, especially if they knew it was sitting in a doomed time slot and were not pondering a season 2 (I could write an entire season based on their cliff-hanger ..IT WOULD HAVE BEEN GOOD)!