Why the Absentia US announcement is taking so long — it’s up to network

We’re days away from the Absentia premiere date in certain countries, and there is still no US announcement. Is that frustrating? Absolutely, but there is a method to the madness.

Unfortunately, the madness is largely controlled by an unknown entity, a mythical man or woman behind the curtain at a major US network / streaming provider who is opting to keep things hush-hush on when the Stana Katic / Patrick Heusinger series will launch. “When will the show premiere in America?” is a question we’ve received frequently over the past month at CarterMatt, and below the show’s official account provides a clear answer. The purchasing networks are responsible for announcing when the show will air and where — it’s not the responsibility of the show account or of Sony Pictures TV to make that choice. Networks have the rights to promote the show the way that they see fit.

As for why in the world the Absentia – US home is waiting for so long, they clearly have a plan for rolling out the show at a time that best suits them. It could be a cable network waiting for a better time-slot, or it could be a broadcast network trying something a little unorthodox. There are so many options and we’ve exhausted the subject here at the site over the past few months, but we made many of those debates under the assumption that a network would have announced the show by now. In this era of global television it made more sense for Absentia to air in the US and Canada at around the same time that it was airing elsewhere, but maybe someone out there has a larger plan that will be better explained down the road.

Just know that it’s not Sony’s fault that you are still waiting for the news you’re dying to hear. It will come in due time, and best believe when it does we’ll have detailed analysis all about it.

When will we post our Absentia coverage?

We have talked about this frequently over the past few weeks at our offices, and given that we’ve seen the premiere episode we are of course chomping at the bit to discuss it! However, out of respect for our friends and colleagues in the US and Canada, we’re going to wait until the North American launch before diving into the show and the story. We are excited for everyone overseas to see the show and you can of course share some of your general thoughts both on our Twitter, our CarterMatt Facebook page, or in the comments. Just remember to be kind and courteous to the fans who are waiting for the Absentia US announcement since there are many viewers holding out to see the show when it airs.

One thing we have said and will continue to say about the premiere episode is that it’s very good and super-engrossing. If you love long-form mysteries we’re pretty sure you’ll love this and Katic’s performance is out of this world.

For other Absentia news…

You can check out a scene from the premiere episode now by heading over to the link here. (Photo: Sony.)