'Constantine' Halts Production At 13 Episodes, But Isn't Canceled Just Yet

It appears that Constantine will have just thirteen episodes for its first season, as NBC has come to the decision to halt production on the DC Comics drama after it completes production on its initial 13-episode order. While this isn't exactly a vote of confidence on NBC's part, it's not a cancellation either.

Unlike similar decisions regarding A to Z and Bad Judge, which were cancelled after production was halted at the 13-episode mark, NBC is still considering renewing Constantine for a second season. While the network ponders a decision, the show will continue to air on Fridays at 10:00 PM ET for the rest of its season.

Further details via Deadline:

NBC had to make a decision whether to keep Constantine in continuous production with little ratings information. While the series began production on a standard fall premiere production schedule, its launch was delayed until late October when NBC’s Friday genre block usually debuts, so the network had to make a call whether to order additional episodes after only four episodes had aired vs. at least seven, which is the norm for freshman series.

Constantine, executive produced by Daniel Cerone and David Goyer, has not been a breakout the way fellow NBC Friday genre drama Grimm was in its debut. But NBC brass were probably encouraged by the freshman’s +38% week-to-week ratings jump for Episode 5 this Friday — after the to a 1.1 among adults 18-49 in Live+Same day, the show’s highest mark since the series debut, and by its best retention of the Grimm lead-in, also since the series debut. Additionally, Constantine, based on the DC property, has strong fan base because of its comic origins and has seen big DVR lifts, most recently rising +81% in Live+3 for Episode 4, regarded by fans as a possible creative turning point in the series.

NBC has been supportive of the show, running a marathon of episodes on cable sibling Syfy this weekend and slating Constantine cast members to appear on the network’s broadcast of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade next week.

So NBC now has to come to some sort of decision as to what they're going to air on Fridays at 10 once Constantine finishes up. Presumably, the show will be done before the midseason lineup is ready, although it's not beyond the realm of possibility that NBC would push up the season premiere of Hannibal, which normally takes over that time slot at midseason. If nothing else, having Hannibal in that slot will give NBC a critical favorite to help anchor its darker-themed Friday night programming block. How Hannibal hasn't earned a slew of Emmy nominations yet, I'll never know.

As for Constantine, I'm wondering if it might not be better for NBC to cancel the show so it can move to a network more well-versed in this sort of show. Like maybe Syfy? I also think the looser restrictions of Netflix could do wonders if they were to pick it up. Of course, this is all speculation at this point, since NBC hasn't made a decision yet. But the fact that we're at this point at all suggests that Constantine is very much on-the-bubble.

But what are your thoughts on the Constantine dilemma? Do you think NBC should give it a second season? Or is one season enough? Sound off in the comments!

Via: Deadline

Credit: NBC