It’s one and done for two NBC series. It came down to the wire but Perfect Harmony & Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector has been canceled by the network.
Musical comedy Perfect Harmony, which stars Bradley Whitford, launched in September and ran for 13 episodes. Whitford starred alongside Anna Camp, Tymberlee Hill. Geno Segers and Rizwan Manji, and played Dr. Arthur Cochran, a recently widowed former instructor at Princeton who becomes music director at a small church in Kentucky, who sets out to transform the church’s failing choir through his unorthodox, yet highly effective methods. Perfect Harmony drew 2.9 million viewers and a 0.6 in the key ad demographic and the show was slow out of the gate in terms of its live ratings. NBC was looking to digital and delayed viewing performance but the show didn’t hit the mark there as well.
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector, which launched in January, ran for 10 episodes and is based on Jeffrey Deaver’s “Bone Collector” book series. It starred Russell Hornsby as Lincoln Rhyme, a brilliant but hardheaded forensic criminologist who suffers near-fatal injuries while on the job, leaving him a tetraplegic. He nevertheless continues his work remotely, working with others to solve cases. The series also stars Arielle Kebbel, Roslyn Ruff, Ramses Jimenez, Brooke Lyons, Tate Ellington, Brian F. O’Byrne, Courtney Grosbeck, and Michael Imperioli. Lincoln Rhyme averaged 5.57 million viewers and a 0.8 rating among adults 18-49, including a week of delayed viewing. The series actually looked ok for renewal since the show aired on Friday nights and performed decently on a night that is usually a dead zone for TV. I’m hearing that NBC is looking to the future with digital as well as considering their next moves in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdowns and Lincoln Rhyme just didn’t fit into that longterm plan.
NBC is waiting a bit longer to make announcements on the remainder of their renewals or cancellations, which seems odd, even with the coronavirus making the fall season uncertain. They’re the only network that has shows waiting in the wings for decisions but I can offer some tidbits on what’s going on potentially with some of the shows. Chances of a renewal for musical dramedy Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, a co-production between Lionsgate TV and Universal TV, looks pretty good. The show has a passionate fanbase and decent online numbers which play into its plans to focus a lot more on online performance for its shows. The show also skews young and it’s pretty big on social media which is also enticing for the network. The live ratings aren’t spectacular by any means and they don’t outright own the show but it seems like they want to keep it around.
There is a similar case going on with Manifest but it’s in an even better position considering its live numbers are stronger. The show, which is looking for a third season renewal, is at the lower end of NBC’s drama numbers but within the ratings range of NBC/Uni TV’s One Chicago/Law & Order: SVU series, which have all been renewed. Warner Bros studio is well-positioned to clinch a Season 3 renewal for Manifest, co-produced by Universal TV, contingent on reaching an agreement with the network, which will come down to the right numbers since NBC doesn’t own it. NBC does find it to be a valuable player so I’d be surprised if it didn’t make the cut again.
