TNT cancels Dark Blue

We’ve been dreading this day for quite some time now, and TNT finally dropped the hammer yesterday, officially canceling the network’s Dylan McDermott vehicle, Dark Blue.

I think we can look at this news in a number of ways.

The first way says this was a terrible, terrible move. In it’s initial season Dark Blue was one of the best new series on TV, despite lackluster ratings. It was a fresh look at an old premise, and the characters were ones we could all enjoy — McDermott had finally found who he was meant to be in Carter Shaw, displaying all of the actor’s talents that didn’t quite make sense when he was playing attorney Bobby Donnell on The Practice.

Omari Hardwick as Ty Curtis portrayed a character trying to move forward in his own life while, at the same time, finding himself torn by who he was meant to be. Logan Marshall-Green’s Dean Bendis started the series as the one battling which side of the “line” he wanted to stand on. And Nicki Aycox’s Jaimie Allen was just starting to unfold, with a ton of potential for exploration in her character, particularly with her past. The show wasn’t perfect — it should have sat on cases for longer — but it was great.

The second way to look at this news involves praising TNT for putting a wounded animal out of its misery. While season one of Dark Blue soared, season two flat lined. The addition of Tricia Helfer as FBI Agent Alex Rice was both a terrible casting, as well as revamping, idea. The LAPD team was emasculated by the FBI’s presence, and Carter and Rice’s pairing wasn’t believable and was painful to watch. The show transformed from gritty cop show to traditional procedural with a romantic twist, and most viewers were having none of it.

But then we can’t forget that the redesign in season two was likely TNT’s own fault. The network spent a long time after season one weighing the fate of the show, and I’d be surprised if it hadn’t played a large role in retooling the show so as to make it more appealing to a wider range of viewers. In other words, the network has no none to blame but itself for the train wreck that was the second season.

Well, in that case, why not let the show be what it always meant to be, and then see if the audience comes? In that case, doesn’t it seem a bit premature to cancel the show, when the network itself is to blame for a bad second season?

There’s also generally greater dissection of a cable show’s audience than is being conducted here. Mad Men’s numbers suck, but AMC swears that the show’s viewers are the greatest ever, and that they buy everything at really high prices. I’m not saying Dark Blue is, or ever will be, TNT’s Mad Men, but shouldn’t a little consideration be given to the types of people tuning in to the show week after week? I’ve always found that to be a poor argument, but if it’s an industry standard, why not use it in this case?

What do you think? Did TNT make a good decision by canceling Dark Blue, or is it yet another example of quality programming brought down by liable corporate parents?

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Nov 17, 2010 @ 12:00 EST5EDT