News broke this week that TNT has cancelled another one of its staple programs. This time the victim is Murder in the First, the drama starring Taye Diggs and Kathleen Robertson as two homicide detectives who have looked into a different big case each season. Murder in the First has been cancelled, which means fans won't be getting a fourth season of the drama.
TNT actually took a little time with its decision regarding Murder in the First. The drama wrapped up its third season at the beginning of September. Numbers were pretty middling for the series, but Deadline actually reports that the Season 3 finale was the highest of the season, reaching 1.6 million total viewers. In comparison, shows on TNT like The Last Ship and The Librarians have averaged over 2 million viewers an episode in recent seasons. As ratings had dropped on Murder in the First during its run, the pattern seems to indicate ratings would continue to have dropped if the show had moved forward for another year.
The cancellation of ok-faring cable shows is a move that we've seen keep happening as cable networks like TNT and USA have changed up their programming lineups to reflect the newly competitive cable landscape. TNT specifically has opted to go in a new, prestige TV-oriented direction with its programming. While genre thrillers like The Last Ship and The Librarians still do good traffic for the network, lighter fare like Rizzoli & Isles, Franklin & Bash and Perception have all been replaced on TNT. Murder in the First is just the latest casualty on the network, although it seems as if Murder in the First fits in to the new lineup a little better than some of the channel's older programming.
We already know that TNT has new originals in the works. Most notably, the channel has signed on for the drama Good Behavior, which will star Downton Abbey alum Michelle Dockery. A pilot for Good Behavior is currently in the works and if it moves forward it will star Dockery as a thief who is released from prison and who should be getting back to her life. Instead, she will entangle herself in a hitman's affairs when she overhears he has been hired to kill someone's wife. Let the cat and mouse games begin.
There is no guarantee that Good Behavior will move forward to series, but TNT isn't slowing down at all in the interim. We'll keep you updated as the channel continues to add original programming. In the meantime, you can find out how this season's shows are faring, here.
