Well, that was fast- Playboy Club has been canceled

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 1:30pm

"The Playboy Club," the new NBC series featuring Gypsy Tony Award winner Laura Benanti that made its premiere Sept. 19, has been canceled, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The new series has been steadily declining in viewership since its debut: 5 million viewers for its premiere, 3.8 million viewers for its second episode and 3.2 million viewers for its most recent offering.

The industry paper says that beginning Oct. 31 Brian Williams' "Rock Center" will take its place. Repeats of "Prime Suspect" will be seen until that time

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/155190-The-Playboy-Club-Featuring-Tony-Winner-Laura-Benanti-Canceled

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 1:34pm

This doesn't surprise me. Show was awful. Laura deserves better-actually I think she needs to star in a sitcom. I think she is a brilliant comedian.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 1:37pm

I consider myself lucky to have been one of the few people to have watched all three aired episodes. I believe six episodes were actually filmed...praying for a DVD release!

[strummergirl]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 1:38pm

Well, (and to borrow from a discussion on the main board) Laura can always go on Smash.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 1:38pm

Hopefully we'll get Laura back on stage this season, now.

GHOST, maybe?

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 1:53pm

Meh, I think Caissie Levy will probably transfer with it.

To be honest, I'm happy about this. I'm a selfish theatre bitch and I want Laura on the boards where she belongs.

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 1:58pm

It looks like I can now go to bed early on Monday nights.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 2:10pm

I blame Gloria Steinem. She has power. She.Has.Power!

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 2:23pm

I'm sorry but i dont think this show was bad at all, the pilot was average but the 2 episodes after were really good and showed the show could really have gons somewhere. The Mad Men comaprisons were beyond daft as all they had in common was the decade, i think the bad press about this show before it even aired (thanks to the silly parents thing you have over there that seems to hate anything for publicity) really killed this show before it even aired. Laura was also giving one of the best performances of the season.

It's no shocker that so many shows made this year are 20 min sitcoms and police and medical dramas. That seems to be the trend over there (which i dont get, once you have seen one you have seen them all).

I sadly fear that good shows like Pan Am and Revenge will only last one season, same with Ringer (which is on the wrong network). It would seem America is not looking for shows that you have to follow week by week (i find that heartbreaking).

On another note, the worst sitcom in history 'Whitney' has just been given a full season pick up, amazing

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 2:29pm

Actually I want Laura to have a hit show so she can make lots of $$$ and get residuals, so she can do whatever theatre she wants. She doesn't make big bank on Broadway. As much as we want her there, its not the greatest money.

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 2:42pm

Amen, Betty!

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 2:47pm

Plus I love the idea of seeing my lovely Laura, and soon to be Sutton in my living room every week. Its a treat and a thrill.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 2:59pm

When i found out that NBC had picked this show up I thought they were crazy because I didn't think it had any potential at all. Benanti was much better than this material.

I'm really hoping that the same thing will not happen with "Smash," which has seems like it could be a great show, and that will be a success. It has the best cast imaginable.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 3:28pm

According to this article, there are still ten unaired episodes! I hope they see the light of day.

http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/the-playboy-club-canceled-21047/

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 3:33pm

I can't believe how fast they yank shows now! Not commenting on this one specifically, but they don't even give them a chance to find an audience. They used to do the mid-season replacement thing, after 11-15 episodes or so ... but yanking a show after 3 airings seems totally bipolar on behalf of the networks. I know this isn't a brand new practice, either.

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 3:42pm

I'm surprised they don't let the episodes that are already filmed, air. Perhaps they'll put them on the internet for us.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 3:47pm

I guess it's not worth continuing airing something that keeps losing viewers (and only has about 3 million viewers to lose in the first place) when they can try something else out there that stands a chance (at least in theory) of drawing in a bigger audience.

I think the difference in NBC holding on to a show like "30 Rock" and letting Playboy go is that "30 Rock" is a critical darling. Playboy got mostly mid-range notices and pans.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 3:53pm

"I can't believe how fast they yank shows now! Not commenting on this one specifically, but they don't even give them a chance to find an audience"

We live in a different time. This is not the 70s where audiences could build and you had to wait for word of mouth, like with All In The Family, which flopped out of the gate.

Word of mouth is immediate now. If a show tanks hard, the audience will never build. There is too much negative networking going on. Networks now count their losses and drop the show. Nowadays a show needs to open big, or fairly big and then grow. Same thing happens with films.

Plus people have way too many entertainment choices. An audience will not build. NBC, ABC and CBS do not have the power they once had.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 4:14pm

It's the Wonderland of NBC!!! I liked the first episode. I was going to watch last week's episode, but it got deleted from my DVR. I started watching last night's but got tired and paused it. Guess there's really no point in trying to catch up now.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 4:29pm

"I can't believe how fast they yank shows now!"

Follow the money. If they can't get ad sales (commercials) for the show, it gets yanked. I'm sure this show was already a dark horse being about the Playboy Club, and it's dropping viewership just sealed the deal. Perhaps it should have been shown on HBO or one of the other cable networks that can run more risky shows.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 4:40pm

They'd have to turn it into a risky show, first.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 4:45pm

Why the 30 Rock comparisons? 30 Rock at its least popular out-draws Playboy's best week.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 6:23pm

Well, COMMUNITY has worse ratings than 30 ROCK, doesn't it? And thank God NBC hasn't pulled the plug on that one (yet).

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 6:27pm

"Parks & Recreation" has never had excellent ratings, but critics, especially Entertainment Weekly, LOVE it. It's also my family's favorite sticom next to "Modern Family."

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/4/11 at 6:27pm

This lasted longer than his last marriage which never happened.Really surprised they axed it so quickly

I wonder what Hef will have to say about it.