‘The Borgias’ canceled by Showtime after three seasons; bad move?

There is nothing more depressing than seeing a TV show that you enjoy get canceled when there is still some life left in it, but we imagine that this feeling is all the more terrible when this is a show that you are paying specifically to see. For Showtime subscribers, hearing this news about “The Borgias” feels almost like an unholy punch to the stomach.

The decision to close off the series now is in some ways collaborative, but not really. As creator Neil Jordan told Deadline in an interview after the news was first announced, he knew that he probably did not have enough material to have a full fourth season of 10 episodes, but he wanted to wrap the story up with a two-hour movie of sorts in the way way that some other series have ended. However, the network basically told him after reading the script that the budget was too high, and thus, the series is over.

We do understand that TV is a business, and premium networks have to be more conscious of budget than ever given that they have no advertisers to back things up, and must rely therefore entirely on the consumer. However, the pure consumer loyalty, that you are going to get bang for your buck, makes this cancellation controversial. This, coupled with “Enlightened” over on HBO, have made 2013 a heartbreaking one for pay cable, even though they do continue to support a number of other shows despite low ratings.

Do you think that Showtime owed it to their fans to give “The Borgias” a proper conclusion, or do you think that the cost here simply was not going to be worth the benefits? If you want to read some more news on another network show in “Dexter,” you can do so over here.

Photo: Showtime