MovieChat Forums > The Hour (2011) Discussion > The Hour axed by BBC2

The Hour axed by BBC2

posted 12 years ago by aGuiltySoul
29 replies | jump to latest

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-02-12/the-hour-axed-by-bbc2

The Hour has been axed by BBC2 and will not return for a third series, it's been confirmed.

The period drama, which was set in the 1950s and concerned the genesis of a fictional current affairs programme on BBC Television, was created by Abi Morgan and starred Dominic West, Ben Whishaw and Romola Garai.

It had been the original intention of the production company behind the programme, Kudos, to produce at least three series. Jane Featherstone, chief executive of Kudos Film and Television, said she was "sad and disappointed" by the decision.

The BBC said: "We loved the show but have to make hard choices to bring new shows through."

In its two years on air, The Hour received four Golden Globes nominations, having been shown on BBC America, and three Bafta nominations. In 2011 it was named as one of the 20 best shows of the year by Radio Times critics.

However, series two, which aired in November and December 2012, saw the show struggle to attract large numbers of viewers, with fewer than 1.5m tuning in.

"I'd never ask you to trust me. It's the cry of a guilty soul."

[–] Julie-30 12 years ago

I am really bummed about this. I loved this show.

http://currentscene.wordpress.com

[–] aGuiltySoul 12 years ago

Is the day of quality TV ending? Sure, it thrives if you have a "hot" star and/or melodrama, but what about if it relies upon being controversial, intelligent, and well done?

"I'd never ask you to trust me. It's the cry of a guilty soul."

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jazz-44 12 years ago

This is such a shame, I loved The Hour. I really feel that the BBC should have followed through with making a third series. It seems ridiculous to set up these plots which need to be rounded off properly only to cancel the series. There really isn't much quality TV at all these days (at least on the main channels anyway). Maybe if Stephen Poliakoff had written it then it would get commissioned...meanwhile we are treated to another series of Call the Midwife...how many years has that been on now, about 500?

[–] Jessica_Rabbit69 12 years ago

That's a shame, but I actually expected it. It's just so typically BBC.

Now we'll never know if Freddie survived.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

[–] Julie-30 12 years ago

It's pretty typical of US television also. Most shows I've loved have been cancelled pretty quickly.

http://currentscene.wordpress.com

[–] Prismark10 12 years ago

The ratings were poor for series 2 so I am not that surprised. If people do not watch it then the BBC are not going make more.

Its that man again!!

[–] pablo-taylor 12 years ago

Exactly; it got poor reviews and (as it went on) weak viewing figures, what criteria would people like the BBC to use in recommissioning programs?

Sadly, The Hour had a terrific cast and design work in service to second-rate writing.

[–] puffinnook 12 years ago

Does anyone have any numbers on international viewing? Dvd sales? I know a lot of people not in the UK who loved this show.

[–] Jessica_Rabbit69 12 years ago

I too don't understand why the rating were (supposedly) not good. What did people not like about it?
It was a good show. Much better than other shows that do not get axed.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

[–] Prismark10 12 years ago

In the UK the second series did worse than the first series and seemed to have gone down to less than 1.0 million viewers on the overnights.

I think the BBC have concluded that it has failed to ignite the viewer's interest any further.

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-02-12/the-hour-axed-by-bbc2

Its that man again!!

[–] qpw3141 12 years ago

Probably slightly too demanding for an audience more used to "Holby this that and the other", "Call the Midwife", and billions of hours of 'reality' TV.

[–] Prismark10 12 years ago

Holby City only gets an average of 5 million viewers. That still leave an audience of about 15 Million out there and 14 million of them chose not to watch The Hour.

I do think that the second series was a little flat.

Its that man again!!

[–] Julie-30 12 years ago

I actually liked series 2 better than series 1. But it was still better than most of what passes for entertainment these days.

http://currentscene.wordpress.com

[–] puffinnook 12 years ago

The addition of Peter Capaldi in series 2 made a good show even better.

The petition has more the 10,000 signatures.

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/the-bbc-please-commission-a-thir d-series-of-the-hour-savethehour

[–] conchiedalquist 12 years ago

Astonishing its not coming back. Absolutely superb series, one of the best in recent years on TV. How can they leave us all hanging about Freddie's fate !!!! On that issue alone they should be ashamed of themselves. At the very least a one off special should be done to tie things up.

[–] GaelicLass 12 years ago

Wasn't Downton Abbey airing at that same time in the uk? That would hurt any show's ratings.

IMDb; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics...another poster

[–] Julie-30 12 years ago

I thought The Hour was aired on a weeknight in the UK. DA was definitely on Sundays.

http://currentscene.wordpress.com

[–] mitjaman 12 years ago

Yeah, but Downton Abbey is unwatchable piece of crappy soap camouflaged by lovely costumes, posh accents and wonderful actors, while The Hour was the best thing on TV, suspenseful, edgy and downright awesomely scripted.

[–] Julie-30 12 years ago

Yes DA is Dallas in Edwardian dress, but I still love it and find it to be eminently watchable.

http://currentscene.wordpress.com

[–] Alexmiles 12 years ago

Nooo :( This is horrible news. I kind of expected it but I still had hope. Now we'll never know what happened to Freddie and if he and Bel ever had a happy ending...

[–] keithkat 12 years ago

Damn this sucks!

[–] puffinnook 12 years ago

I agree. This petition might not help, but it can't hurt.

13,534 signatures so far.

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/the-bbc-please-commission-a-thir d-series-of-the-hour-savethehour

[–] badgerking10 12 years ago

The BBC makes a bit of a habit of this - makes an excellent, high quality series, but doesn't give it the promotion it deserves and, then, scraps it due to low ratings... While the BBC does make far too much lowest common denominator crap, they still make a lot of high quality stuff too - they just don't seem to want to commit long-term to the quality stuff, which is a real shame... I suppose it would be naïve to say the BBC shouldn't take ratings into consideration at all. But, they really should be much less of a factor than they are at commercial television channels... At the very least, they could have planned the axing a bit better and given us a more definitive ending, rather than the cliff-hanger we actually got... I'm sad "Being Human" is finishing. But, in that case, it does seem to have been properly planned, with the current series apparently moving towards a very definitive ending.

[–] Beck_Mill_00 12 years ago

Well, that's unfortunate. Such a wonderful show, with great writing and brilliant acting!

So it's just going to be left up in the air whether or not Freddie died?

Weak.

---------------------------------------
"Shut your mouth when you talk to me!"

[–] GaelicLass 12 years ago

HBO did that on Rome, the very last scene Vorenus is on his death bed but you never know if he really dies; they leave you guessing. HBO promised a movie after when they saw the uproar they caused but we never got it.

Someone started a Facebook page hoping for a movie and it has a lot of activity.

IMDb; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics...another poster

[–] Jes' Sayin' (6544) a month ago

Both shows had ensemble casts and were probably more expensive than average to make...

[–] DucktorWho 12 years ago

I'm very disappointed by this, I really enjoyed the show.

I'm going to assume that Freddie survived.

[–] glass_hopper 12 years ago

I feel the same way. This show is really good. This is a terrible shame.