Did Reef Break finale ratings help, hurt season 2 renewal odds?
Last night’s new episode of the Poppy Montgomery series ended up generating as a whole a 0.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic, coupled with just over 2 million live viewers. The numbers are low — not significantly so, but still low. Just think about it — the finale aired opposite regular season football, and over the past several weeks in general, Reef Break has been subject to some terrible preemptions and blackouts in carious markets. These things are explained further by Montgomery herself, who discussed the show’s renewal hopes in a new interview with TVLine:
You know, I think we’ve got to take a look at the programming of it; there were so many preemptions and blackouts that it’s hard to get a real read on what the numbers were. Also, you get a lot of bang for your buck on this show, meaning it looks beautiful and we are doing it very “efficiently” when it comes to the price. But I also think it’s one of those shows that, given the right exposure, who wouldn’t enjoy it? It’s a fun ride. I think it’s just got to find it’s legs a little. And it’s an international co-production, so once it airs in France, we’ll get a real sense of what it looks like. If it’s a monster hit in France…
We’re, unfortunately, not super-optimistic about the future of Reef Break given that the show previously canceled Take Two after a similar run last summer. The major question we’re often left to wonder here is why ABC chooses to program in this timeslot in the first place. Aren’t there other places that a show like Reef Break could go, ones that would also give the series a better chance at coming back for more down the line? In our mind, we certainly do like to think so.
If there is bad news coming for Reef Break over the next few weeks, let’s just hope that ABC starts to think a little bit differently with their scheduling in the future. To be specific, don’t pair fun summer shows with little promotion opposite football!
What do you think about the Reef Break finale ratings?
What do you think the future of the series could hold? Be sure to share right now in the comments, and remember to stick around for more news once we have it.