Ryan Phillippe brought a new kind of action to USA back in 2016 with the premiere of Shooter. The show was a consistent performer in the ratings throughout its first season, and it didn't come as a huge shocker when the show was renewed for a second season, which debuted earlier this month. Unfortunately, Phillippe suffered an injury that got in the way of filming, and we now know that fans will get fewer episodes than originally expected out of Season 2.
The news of the injury broke on July 17, when Ryan Phillippe himself shared via social media that he suffered a bad break to his leg during a family outing. The break was serious enough that surgery was required, but Phillippe was quick to assure fans that he would make a full recovery and is being taken care of quite well. Luckily for the show, the majority of Season 2 had already filmed at the time of Phillippe's injury. The season originally scored an order for ten episodes, and eight were already completed.
Although Episode 8 was not intended to function as a season finale, Deadline reports that the producers and the network believe that Season 2 will wrap up just fine with the premature finale. Production did reportedly continue on the remaining two episodes for a little bit without Phillippe, but the brass ultimately decided to only air the episodes that have already been completed.
Only two episodes of Shooter Season 2 have aired so far. The second season premiered on July 18, only one day after Ryan Phillippe announced that he'd broken his leg. The premiere suffered a drop in the key 18-49 ratings demographic from the Season 1 average, but it received a boost in viewership. The final numbers for Live+Same day premiere calculations indicate that 1.5 million people tuned in and the episode scored 0.41 rating in the 18-49. The numbers for the second episode were more disappointing, with a ratings drop to 0.32 and a viewership drop to 1.17 million.
All of this said, fans shouldn't despair. Season 1 aired from November 2016 to January 2017, which is a time when many TV networks are airing reruns rather than new programming. Shooter may have simply tapped into a larger audience with nothing else to watch during its first season. If Season 2 can achieve a ratings consistency, Shooter could certainly become an ongoing hit for USA. Given the premature end to Season 2, the odds are pretty good that we'll get an exciting cliffhanger of a finale.
Only time will tell. At this point, we simply have to hope that Ryan Phillippe recovers from his injury without any issues and gets back on his feet sooner rather than later. You can catch the rest of Shooter Season 2 on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on USA. For your other viewing options, our summer TV guide can help you out.
