Fox Cuts ‘Minority Report’ Order to 10 Episodes
“Minority Report” will only see 10 episodes for its first season, Variety has learned. The low-rated Monday night Fox drama was originally handed a 13-episode order.
After under-performing for its first three episodes — most recently bringing in just over 2 million viewers — Fox reduced the original order, though sources say the network has not made a decision regarding cancellation. It seems likely, however, that the final episode of this fall’s 10-episode run will serve as the series finale, unless the next seven episodes see a surge in ratings.
“Minority Report,” which will remain airing in its current Monday 9 p.m. time slot, was always scheduled to have 10 episodes air this fall, with week ten serving as the big fall finale. Though three more episodes were planned to be broadcast after a fall hiatus (and then potentially followed by more episodes, had the series fared more successfully), sources close to the show say viewers will get a satisfying ending since episode No. 10 was always written as a finale-type storyline.
With impressive creatives in drama veteran Kevin Falls serving as showrunner and Steven Spielberg exec producing by way of his Amblin TV banner, the 20th Century Fox and Paramount TV project was the first to land an official pilot order for the 2015-16 development cycle. Though there was initial promise for the futuristic drama, namely in its brand recognition, adapting films to series can be a difficult feat, as viewers already have a point of comparison.
Premiering to just over 3 million viewers, “Minority Report” has dropped in each of its three weeks. This past episode, it hit its lowest scores (0.7/2 in 18-49, 2.07 million viewers overall), down 0.2 week to week. Its 1.1 rating in 18-49 and 3.1 million total viewers from its series debut were the lowest averages for any of the fall’s Big Four premieres to date.
Rick Kissell contributed to this report.
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