There have been two pieces of really bad news for NBC shows in a matter of hours, though this latest bit is less surprising than the first. Earlier today, we learned that Christina Applegate was exiting Up All Night, which could (but is not confirmed to) be a death sentence for the comedy. And now comes word that NBC has decided to pull their new drama Do No Harm from the schedule after just two episodes, both of which received very low ratings.
Do No Harm starred Steven Pasquale as a surgeon struggling with a reckless alternate personality. This news comes just a little over a week after the medical drama/Jekyl & Hyde story premiered as - according to EW - the lowest-rated in-season broadcast scripted series debut in modern history. The ratings for Episode 2 slipped even further, with just 2.2 million viewers tuning in last night. The series will be replaced by reruns of Law & Order: SVU.
EW points out that this is the second medical drama to fail this season, with Fox's The Mob Doctor flatlining partway through its first season, with its final episode airing last month. But it's also well worth noting that NBC hasn't really had any luck with Thursday dramas since ER. Lipstick Jungle, Southland, Prime Suspect, The Firm and Awake all preceded Do No Harm in the Thursday night, 10 p.m. post-comedy spot and failed. Not that we should blame the time slot entirely for Do No Harm's failure, though it's clearly an issue. The Jekyl & Hyde side of Do No Harm had potential, but maybe with its attempts at darker material, it just wasn't a fit for network television, or maybe its execution was off. That could've been worked out in time, but Do No Harm apparently ran out of that with its second episode.
