Ouch, this one's gotta hurt. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox has pulled the plug on its insanely costly, Steven Spielberg-produced sci-fi drama "Terra Nova. As the story goes, the long-anticipated pilot alone cost a staggering $20 million to produce.
Though it may be painful to some, the "Terra Nova" cancellation is certainly not a surprise. As HuffPost TV's critic Maureen Ryan wrote after the first season finale in December, "'Terra Nova' will go down as one of the biggest misfires in television history. What a waste this expensive Fox show was, not just of money, but of potential."
The ratings for "Terra Nova" seemed to fit into bubble territory for a while. The show was averaging just below 10 million viewers and earned an average 3.6 rating among adults in the key 18-49 demographic, according to Zap2It.com. But the numbers steadily declined and the two-hour finale reached a series low. Of course, some true fans already had their "Terra Nova" petitions ready. When "Terra Nova" met its fate on Mon., March 5, the Sci Fi Congress' petition was inching towards 10,000 signatures.
In December, "Terra Nova" star Jason O'Mara seemed positive about the show's renewal and in January, Fox boss Kevin Reilly spoke at the Television Critics Association’s press tour about "Terra Nova's" future. "We'll decide very soon, because it does need to get back into production in the next month,” Reilly said, according to TVLine. “If [it doesn't come back], we made money on it [and] the audience enjoyed it."
"Terra Nova's" first season came to an end on Dec. 19, 2011 and the finale was tailored to work as either a season finale or series finale. The season-long feud between father and son was decided and any remaining mysteries may have to be solved in fans' imaginations ... but maybe not.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Terra Nova's" studio, 20th Century Fox TV, will attempt to shop the series to other networks.