The Red Line season 2: Why isn’t it happening on CBS?
From the get-go, CBS opted to make this production into a spring event, airing new episodes in two-hour blocks on Sunday nights to try and build up a little bit of hype around it. This isn’t something that they do all that much of, but in general, CBS doesn’t really get all that much into the limited series game. It’s a risky proposition since you’re only getting a property for a limited amount of time and it can be an expensive endeavor for just a handful of episodes. Of course, the flip side of that is if it turns out to be a hit, you can always try and drop “limited” from the name and make it into more of a full-fledged series … or at least do another chapter down the road. Just look at USA’s The Sinner or HBO’s Big Little Lies for examples as to how that works. Or, you can do something akin to American Horror Story and make it into an anthology, with each season focusing on a different idea or a different case.
If The Red Line had turned out to be an enormous success, we feel like CBS would’ve at least discussed the idea of bringing the show back and telling more stories. They’d be foolish not to. It is typically the goal of every major television network to chase down dollar signs as far as they possibly can. If that means twisting around the definition of limited series in order to do so, they’re more than happy to make the move.
Unfortunately, The Red Line just didn’t cross any sort of line/ratings threshold that would make executives consider doing more. Some recent episodes of the show have drawn just a 0.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic, which is down dramatically from most of the typical Sunday night in-season programming. We understand that some of these episodes had the tough task of airing opposite Game of Thrones, but we really don’t think CBS uses that as much of an excuse. It’s all about what you make or what you don’t in terms of ad revenue.
At least in this case, CBS doesn’t have to worry about canceling a show to the rage of a devoted legion of fans. With The Red Line being a limited series, the finale should tie up whatever loose ends the producers originally intended. You’ll get your defined beginning, middle, and end and from there, you will have that opportunity to move on to whatever the next thing is.
Do you want to see a The Red Line season 2 happen over at CBS? Be sure to share right now in the comments, and check back soon in the event you do want some other scoop. (Photo: CBS.)