It appears as though NBC have brought out the garlic and wooden stakes on their TV show Dracula, after the network announced the cancellation of the show after just one season.
The British-American ‘horror drama’ production, set in Victorian-era London (England) as a re-imagining of the classic vampire character, lasted 10 episodes in its sole season, and was reportedly a ‘project of passion’ for network chairman Bob Greenblatt, who went to personal ‘agressive’ lengths to hire Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the titular lead.
The character in-universe was portrayed as a vampire, posing as ‘an American entrepreneur’ living in London, but it appears as though the unusual circumstances of this story will not see a continuation.
Reasons for the lack of renewal were presumably ratings, with the show never escaping mediocrity since launching in October with 5.2m viewers, before progressing through the remaining 9 installments with an average of 3m viewers.
Meanwhile, NBC cutting spree has seen them take the on-air lives of a number of other formats, including long-running sitcom Community, Revolution, The Michael J. Fox Show, and the aptly-titled Welcome to the Family, amongst 6 other shows confirmed as coming to an end.
The total of programmes (most notably a large number of reality shows) that struck fortune in NBC’s decision-making process totalled 15, with titles including About a Boy, America’s Got Talent, The Biggest Loser, Celebrity Apprentice, Parks and Recreation, and The Voice.
In addition, NBC will look to replace their dropped content with new shows, with no less than 16 entering the schedule including A to Z, Emerald City, Heroes Reborn, and Will Ferrell-backed project Mission Control.
Amongst the shows that were in the exact same position this time last year, though, a number will not make it to sophmore, including Dracula. Judging by the trailer available below, did the show deserve a second chance?
Despite the belief that the most senior person at NBC had in the idea, perhaps it is just the curse of the wampire that gets promising programmes cancelled:
