TV Fans everywhere are recovering from the news that Syfy has cancelled Eureka, the longest running scripted Syfy series on the air. Being that among the genre fans, this show seemed to be the most popular show on Monday nights*, the cancellation report came as a shock to many. And yet, with each new TV season, more core sci-fi/fantasy series seem to be getting shoved to Mondays and Fridays, then subsequently, getting the boot.
Though we’re in the midst of the 4th season of Eureka and we do have a 5th season coming, and now, with an extra episode added to next season so the writers can create a proper ending, the end is a wee bit off, but it is coming.
Fans reactions to the cancellation seem to be focused on the understandable frustration and angry aspect of losing one more TV fave from the tube and from this network in particular. Many folks are threatening to cancel their cable packages/tiers that had the Syfy channel in it and using other colorful metaphors to describe how they feel about the network.
Before you tie Syfy to the stake and light the pyre, you should keep something in mind: Syfy, whose parent network is NBC, is now owned by Comcast. Yes, we now have to add the newest ingredient to the programming decision makers, Comcast.
I was reminded of this scenario when it was driven home when Eureka‘s co-exec producer Amy Berg (Eureka, Leverage, The 4400) used Twitter to make the following public note:
“Everyone is asking why. It’s simple, really.”
“We are the network’s golden child in every way, except profit margins. Fact is, #Eureka is an expensive show to make.”
“And we could not maintain the quality of our show with the cuts it would take to make us profitable for Syfy’s new parent company.”
“Our creative execs at Syfy fought hard to keep us. Trust me, they LOVE us. We just couldn’t make the numbers work.”
You don’t have to look between the lines to see that she notes that the cuts needed to renew the show to make it profitable for Syfy’s new parent company. In other words, it looks like Syfy is being dragged even deeper into the business realm of return of investment, or the balancing out of cost vs investment.
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‘Tis the season. At least on Syfy, ’tis the season to have Christmas episodes of Eureka, Warehouse 13, Haven and some adult Scooby Doo time with Ghost Hunters. And if that’s not enough, the Syfy channel has a few TV marathons in store for you… including their annual Twilight Zone marathon! (Sigh, remember the days when The Twilight Zone marathons were the norm for most holiday weekends?)
