Not-So-Amazing ‘Grace’: TNT Kills Hunter Drama

TNT and Fox TV Studios have decided "Saving Grace" is too expensive to save.

 

The Holly Hunter drama will wrap its run next summer, just three years after it premiered to strong ratings and solid critical acclaim. FTVS will have produced around 50 episodes when the show ends.

 

 

TNT had planned on launching a six-episode mini-season of "Grace" this winter. Instead, it’s taking those six episodes, ordering three more, and will give "Grace" a nine-episode send-off next summer. That’s according to the Hollywood Reporter, which first reported the death of "Grace" Thursday evening.

 

 

The Reporter notes that "Grace" is an expensive show to produce, which may be code for: Fox TV Studios and TNT couldn’t find a way to make the budget work for "Grace" long-term. Landing an Oscar-winning star of Hunter’s caliber does not come cheap.

 

 

If TNT’s Nielsen spin is to be believed, "Grace" remains a successful show, ratings-wise. Its current season is averaging 3.5 million viewers and wins its Tuesday 10 p.m. cable slot in adults 25-54 and women 25-54.

 

 

Despite that, TNT’s announcement means that "Grace"– supposedly a signature drama for network– is going away just three years after it premiered, and with far fewer episodes in the can than the 80-100 usually required for syndication.

 

That’s a mystery even Det. Grace Hanadarko might have trouble solving.

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