‘Timeless’ clocks out: Canceled after one season on NBC

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NBC has pulled the plug on its time-travel drama “Timeless” after a single season



The show was on the bubble after a modestly rated run in the fall and early winter, and the decision not to go ahead with Season 2 came late Wednesday.

“Timeless” averaged a 1.1 rating among adults 18-49 and 4.62 million viewers in initial airings this season. With a week of DVR and on-demand viewing the show improved to 2.1 and 7.97 million viewers.

Those numbers compare favorably to a pair of bubble shows NBC opted to renew: “Blindspot” (1.0/4.93 million same-day, 1.8/7.44 million Live +7) and “Taken” (1.0/5.3 million, 1.3/7 million).

“Taken” has the advantage of being produced in-house by Universal Television, with international co-producer Europa Corp. taking on some of the cost. “Blindspot” (Warner Bros.) and “Timeless” (Sony) come from outside studios, though NBC owned half of “Timeless.”

The show likely earned its bubble status by underperforming in the post-“Voice” time period on Monday nights. It was well below “Blindspot’s” 1.8 same-day average last season and retained only about half of its lead-in in the weeks it was paired with “The Voice.”

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‘Timeless’ plot twist: NBC changes its mind and renews for Season 2



“Timeless” lives again after a last-minute reversal by NBC.

The network on Wednesday opted to cancel the first-year show, which had been squarely on the bubble with marginal ratings (though slightly better than those of a couple shows it did renew, like “Taken” and “Blindspot”).

On Saturday, NBC changed its mind and opted to pick up the show for a 10-episode second season. It will likely return to the schedule in the later part of the 2017-18 season.

“It’s true!” co-creator Shawn Ryan tweeted Saturday. “NBC heard from fans, went back in time and changed history! #Timeless is getting a Season 2!”

Co-creator Eric Kripke initially tweeted the show would be set for summer 2018, but then walked that back to say “Timeless” would be airing “sometime in 2018.”

An NBC rep says fan outcry played a factor in the decision, but per The Hollywood Reporter and others, producer Sony’s offer of “the lion’s share” of profits from the show helped too. (“Timeless” is a co-production between Sony and Universal Television.)

A network deciding to un-cancel a show is pretty rare, but not unheard of: CBS reversed course on its crime show “Unforgettable” a few years back, and prior to that a fan campaign helped “Jericho” earn a second season. It’s more unusual for the reversal to happen within a few days, as it did here.