‘Once Upon a Time’ season 3 ratings hit new low; do we blame Peter Pan, football, or fatigue?

Remember the days where “Once Upon a Time” was considered a gift to television audiences everywhere? ABC loved the ratings, and it felt like this was going to be the next “Lost,” a show that would be talked about for years and make it at least until season 5 or 6. Heck they even have two of the “Lost” writers in Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz here as executive producers.

But, the problem now for the show is that it has hit pedestrian numbers, and last night’s episode scored a series-low of a 2.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic. This is hardly enough for it to be considered a hit, and while a season 4 seems guaranteed for syndication purposes, its future beyond that is unclear if the drop continues. While it was still the #1 scripted show on network television last night, other shows on ABC that did even worse, and also CBS shows delayed because of football.

As for right now, let’s try to figure out just what in the world is going on to cause so many people to jump ship on this fairy tale.

1. “It’s not good enough anymore” – While a good portion of season 2 was pretty problematic, there has been at times growth this time around. One of the only major problems for season 3 has been that it always feels like the same time of day in Neverland, and nothing seems to be happening particularly as fast as you would hope. Robbie Kay is actually a pretty fantastic, evil version of the character, and Tinker Bell has already proved to be a nice addition.

While it was a risk and we admire it, the biggest move that hurt the show more than any other was breaking the curse at the end of season 1. What made the story so exciting for a time was that nobody really knew who they actually were, and the dual personalities kept thing interesting. Plus, it felt like the show was willing to paint broader strokes for people like Charming and Snow White when they didn’t know they were Charming and Snow White.

2. “It’s the fault of scheduling” – This is admittedly a part of it. Sundays are getting swallowed up in football, though “Once Upon a Time” can’t blame “The Walking Dead” for its drop. If you get put on a DVR, there is always a chance that viewers will forget to watch, fall behind, and not catch up. There was a schedule misfire early this year that hurt it, as well, though we do have to say that if the show was “Breaking Bad” 2.0, viewers would find it regardless.

3. “It’s network TV” – That is part of it. Networks are being hit hard this year by migration to cable and other factors, and it’s incredibly hard for any show of this kind with 22 episodes a year to actually improve an audience. So far this fall, “Scandal” and “Supernatural” are the only two that have really pulled this off without some sort of luck attached. (“Chicago Fire” is being helped by airing after “The Voice” more than anything.)

What’s your thoughts behind the lower ratings? Share below, and click here if you are curious in seeing some more of what is coming up on this upcoming episode.

Photo: ABC