Just because it’s the fall and so much TV is new does not mean that all your shows are safe. Also, just because a show has survived three seasons does not mean Season 4 is at all a forgone conclusion. This information has now been made clear to USA’s Graceland, as the cable channel just killed the drama following it’s Season 3 finale.
Reports on Thursday indicate that USA Network has made the decision to not bring back the series for a fourth year. According to EW, the series just did not bring in the ratings that it needed in order to justify its place in the schedule. This appears to have been a short conversation with an easy decision. It has only been two weeks since Graceland ended it’s summer run on USA, and shows that are on the bubble ratings-wise or have a strong fan following often survive in limbo for months before the final decision is made. Unfortunately, it appears Graceland was lacking in both departments.
Graceland followed a collection of undercover agents from multiple US government agencies who lived together in a confiscated beach house dubbed, well, Graceland. The premise is more than a little wild, but for the last few years the slightly offbeat drama has been a staple of USA Network's programming. Series creator Jeff Eastin had already scored one hit with White Collar wrapped up less than a year ago after a six season run. Now Eastin’s gone from having two series running on the same network to none.
After some strong successes like Burn Notice and Psych, USA has had some difficulty finding new series in the last couple of years. Longer running shows like Covert Affairs have been cancelled while many of the new shows that have been brought in to replace the successful ones, like Rush and Complications haven’t been able to survive Season 1. USA does have one bonafide new hit on it’s hands with the recent Mr. Robot, which debuted so strongly that Season 2 was ordered nearly as soon as the first season launched. Plus, USA does have a few staples and a couple of new series in the hopper, including Queen of the South which follows a woman’s battle with a mexican drug cartel, and Carlton Cuse’s Colony, about a family fighting for freedom in an occupied Los Angeles.
Hopefully, USA will find some success with these new offerings, as the network's two longest running originals, Suits and Royal Pains are looking a little long in the tooth. This will only compound the network's need to find new hits.
