THE KILLING has been Canceled: AMC, Mireille Enos, Joel Kinnaman

The Killing Canceled. AMC has canceled The Killing, a Seattle-set crime drama starring Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman, instead of renewing it for a third season. I was surprised by this move from AMC but I had not been paying attention to the ratings for the show. Its the ratings that keep a network TV show alive.

The official statement about The Killing‘s cancelation:

After much deliberation, we’ve come to the difficult decision not to renew ‘The Killing’ for a third season. AMC is incredibly proud of the show and is fortunate to have worked with such a talented team on this project, from showrunner Veena Sud and our terrific partners at Fox Television Studios to the talented, dedicated crew and exceptional cast.”

Meanwhile, the producers of the show hope to go on: “Fox Television Studios is extremely proud of ‘The Killing,’ the extraordinary writing staff and crew, and what we believe is one of the best casts on television. We will proceed to try to find another home for the show.

I personally watched every single episode of The Killing and didn’t feel “jerked around” that Rosie Larcen’s killer was not revealed at the end of season 1 (written about here: TV Review: The Killing: Season 1, Episode 13: Orpheus Descending) but others did. “Full of increasingly frustrating red herrings and plot narratives that were akin to driving around in circles, season one was an ‘enough-already!’ hair-pulling experience that had almost zero relief for viewers”. 

I thought The Killing was a good mystery TV series and I looked forward to seeing that somber mood and palette in season 3. That is not to be because the ratings were not there for the show in its second season.

On the rating for The Kililng: Season 2:

the season two finale averaged 1.5 million viewers for its initial telecast, which fell dramatically from its season premiere (2.7 million) — a drop of 17% — and its season one finale (2.3 million). And it should be noted that when the show first aired, it was the network’s highest original premiere next to “The Walking Dead.”

I will miss the show. Will you?

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