I think they'll do it on the low. Just put it on hiatus, then bring it back in the summer to air remaining episodes and never talk about the show ever again. It's a show that should've worked (how many spin-offs have bombed this badly anyway? They usually last at least two seasons) and they did the worst possible thing ever by scheduling it on Thursday 8PM.

The thing is...I don't think Once Upon a Time is already sauccessful/beloved enough to justify the spin-off. Therefore, it bombed.

OUAT was successful. It's just that a spin-off was a bad idea because it seemed like a carbon copy of the first one. Even moreso than the CSI lineup or NCIS one.

That's key right there. It was successful, but, I can't speak as to why, ratings went way down. Whether quality diminished or the attention span of its audience couldn't keep up with various repeats, breaks or hiatuses. Either way, OUAT is barely hanging on itself.

I don't know why its audience lost interest now, but I dropped the show early on. It seemed like there won't be any real pay-offs, things will get more and more convoluted. Essentially another Lost. I definitely like the best shows that are heavily serialized but they keep the story in check within a season (so it can stand as a whole yet be a part of a bigger picture - usually shows like that have a creator with a clear vision of what they want the show be be about/like).

The first few episodes of the second season SUCKED. It got super fun during episodes 8-15. And ended up sucking again. That's why its audience dropped.

Wonderland was really suppose to be a miniseries to replace OUAT during the winter, and then ABC decided to put it on Thursday which was stupid.

"Longmire" has been renewed for Season 3 of 10 episodes by A&E.

OUAT's ratings decline isn't that drastic when accounting for all of ratings going down at the same time. I think Lost bled more from the big start to mid run.

Notably both Lost and OUAT are about a group/community of characters who were sent to a foreign place and flash back to their original lives. A community setting leads to quickly introduced characters and dynamics. Wonderland doesn't have the community angle which may be a reason for not catching on.

Nah. Lost average was way more consistent in its first three seasons:

Season 1 15.69
Season 2 15.50
Season 3 15.95
Season 4 13.17
Season 5 10.94
Season 6 10.08

OUAT:
Season 1 12.47
Season 2 10.91
Season 3 9.54*

*average so far, I've calculated it and given the same DVR rise that season 2 had - mind you the average will fall significantly once the spring numbers, which are always a lot lower than fall/winter ones, get added later in the season. Just to make a comparison, the average of the first 8 episodes of season 2 would be 12.58 - higher than the average of season 1, but look how much it dropped later on in the season to a season average of 10.91!!!

"Lost" was wayyyy more consistent ratings-wise than "OUAT."

I think this is accurate http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Ratings

S1e08 18.44 million 6.6 demo
S2e08 19.29 mil 6.9 demo
S3e08 12.84 mil 4.5 demo
S4e08 4.0
S5e08 3.7
S6e08 3.9

That also lines up with ABC reacting with the hiatus-less schedules after S3. Lost actually had a huge decline from start of S2 to end of it. It was pulling 8s at the start and 5s at the end. Likewise where OUAT's ratings really fell was from start of S2 to end of it while end of S2 to S3 was pretty steady. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ ... e_episodes Overall it would seem the convoluted plot style of both eventually shakes off viewers, in addition to sci fi or fantasy shows trending niche anyways

That ep 8 of Lost from season 3 aired in spring and its not a fair comparison at all. That's like 20% less automatically. Take the lowest rated episode from fall/winter (about 16 million, 5.7 demo) and the drop isn't that big as you want to portray it. Also you have to take into account DVR ratings which started to take off slowly when Lost/DH premiered and grew massive in just a couple of years. Look down in that link and see how huge Lost gained with DVR views. It's a shame there isn't any data there for S1-S3, but I'm thinking S1 and S2 had low DVR share, and S3 had a bigger one. At that point Lost started to lose its watercooler status and people probably didn't feel that they need to watch it as it airs and also DVR adoption rates started to rise about that time too.

That's still getting off-topic. Fact is, Once Upon a Time is BY FAR not the cultural/ratings phenomenon that Lost was. Or any phenomenon at all, really. It did not justify a spin-off and this is showing by the spin-off underperforming THIS badly.

Well, it was never meant to be a spin off. Somehow the writers convinced ABC to make a 1 season show that would have a beginning, middle, and end. It was really just suppose to be a long miniseries that would air when OUAT was off for its winter break. ABC made the stupid decision to put it on 8PM on Thursday.

Well the show bombed, but the idea wasn't bad. First, by Lucky 7 and Betrayal getting on the air, the drama pilot alternatives had to be weak. Secondly that Alice in Wonderland is a powerful enough brand to come off a 116 mil/334 box-office run, makes TV-ing it a defendable idea alone, before getting to it being a spinoff to a show with a fanbase (OUAT is still somewhere between ABC's 4th and 7th most successful show with The Middle, Castle and Dancing With the Stars all around the same going into the year, not like it's Parks and Rec-ing ratings wise). If anything the big mistake may have been the title. Call it "Alice in Wonderland" and maybe it premieres with a little more gravitas. Hell, since they had no characters from the original in it anyways, they probably should've just gone "Let's make an Alice in Wonderland show with flashbacks" and not made it a OUAT spin-off at all, which would've allowed them to put the Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter in it

But in general it probably failed while original OUAT succeeded for the same reason Betrayal failed while Revenge succeeded. Some shows have the makings of an immediate hit plot, writing, acting, chemistry, etc. wise while others just don't

AIW BO depended a lot on Depp, Burton and the 3D craze at that time (on OW about 70% of its gross came from 3D in the US and I'm guessing OS it was even bigger percentage which allowed the movie to gross over $1 billion OS). Not a good pointer for an eventual series based on Alice brand. It all depends on the actual show appeal IMHO, not much source material. I doubt a TV show based on Oz for example would generate instant buzz and curiosity among viewers if it didn't look interesting.

Well Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Sleepy Hollow sure were helped by brand names. : ) SH is probably a good example of how OUATIW could've worked ratings wise, but Sleepy Hollow is much more of a network hit in feel and execution

Frankly another OUAT spinoff isn't even out of the question. Maybe in a dry spell for new shows, they'll take a look at eg OUAT in Oz as a one year miniseries or to fill time on Sundays in the winter. Even if OUATIW didn't work, when compared to throwing other dramas at the wall and hoping they stick, going for a show with a brand like Oz and recognizable characters may not look like so bad an idea.

I would rather they save Oz for OUAT at this point. Otherwise not sure what story they can come up with in future seasons. I still hope they use Jafar in OUAT as he is the best thing about Wonderland.

I would actually they don't use Oz at all for OUAT. Oz can have a very modern like update in the like of Sleepy Hollow. I always thought a somewhat dark and sinister version of Oz would be very cool to see and explore.

Here's an early Christmas gift for "The Blacklist" fans,

It has been renewed for a second season!!!!!!

http://variety.com/2013/tv/news/the-bla ... 200914662/

Wow, what a surprise.

Scandal's episode order for season 3 has been reduced from 22 to 18 episodes.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/12/06/scandal-episode-order-reduced-to-18-episodes/220629/

Weird?

It says it's probably due to lead actress' pregnancy. So not really weird. It would be weirder if they filmed 4 episodes without her. I'm sure they've cut only as little as they could. Scandal is doing great business for them.