Fox Television Group Chairman and CEO Dana Walden spoke at the INTV conference in Jerusalem and was asked about the renewal chances of 24: Legacy by Deadline. Here’s what she had to say:
With regard to 24: Legacy, Walden is feeling mixed. “I’m a little sad because I feel like it’s a really good show. We’re doing about 7-8 million viewers over seven days per episode. It’s not terrible. We had really high hopes for the show.
Perhaps our launch strategy was a little over-ambitious.” The show first aired after the Super Bowl which ran late and the second episode was the following night. “Then we were off to the races,” Walden said, “and there was catch-up involved. I think people weren’t clear about when the next episode would be, even though we messaged a lot. Messages get lost after a game like that. So, I’m feeling mixed.
I feel very proud of the show and extremely grateful to the creators and the great actors who have done a really wonderful job. I’m wondering whether broadcast can sustain something so serialized.”
On its renewal chances, Walden told me, “We’re going to see. I would love nothing more than to bring it back because I thought it was great but we’re just going to have to see how our pilots come in, how it continues to perform and weigh all of the information we have in May.”
It’s not exactly a great sign when one of the key executives in charge of renewals at FOX is “a little sad” and can only describe the ratings as being “not terrible.” Perhaps worst of all, she is questioning whether the heavily serialized format of the show can even work on broadcast television. None of this sounds like good news for 24: Legacy‘s renewal chances.
Walden ends by saying they’ll make a decision in May – FOX’s Upfronts Presentation takes place on May 15th. The entire season of 24: Legacy will have finished airing by then (as will FOX’s other revival, Prison Break). So they will have a complete set of data and trends to look at along with a number of potential new series. At the moment though, it is very much up in the air.