The bone heads at the A&E network, otherwise known as ‘ Arts & Entertainment ‘, have canceled the show Longmire , their most popular drama series of all time; not because of poor ratings, not because of contract disputes or difficulty with the production company or cast… no… reportedly, it’s because they don’t own the show. And if they don’t own it, they don’t want it. Further, reports say the “arts and entertainment” network is refocusing on reality-based programming. In other words, the network is doing its best to distance itself from…itself.
What is being seen across social media as a colossal failure for the network that also has popular shows like….um….. and….. um….. well, they do have Duck Dynasty , and that show was cool at one time. But even that show was dissed by the network after comments from one of its stars that were relatively consistent with the general theme of the show, but spurred controversy. Ultimately, the show and the star, Phil Robertson, returned to the network, but it hasn’t been the same since. And, let’s be honest, the recent announcement of Sadie Robertson joining the cast of Dancing With the Stars couldn’t more clearly spell the end of Duck Dynasty .
Widespread reports indicate the production company behind Longmire , Warner Horizon, is already shopping the show at other networks. Deadline reports the show peaked in its second season with an average 6 million viewers, dipping in its most recent season to 4.6 million. Still, an extremely high number for the network, behind only Duck Dynasty . Deadline also noted that its lead-in, repeats of Criminal Minds , was almost 75% weaker than its season two lead-in, The Glades , which the network canceled last year with basically the same reasoning — much to the distress of the show’s fans.
“We would like to thank the phenomenal cast, crew and producers of Longmire , along with our partners at Warner Horizon, for their tireless work on three seasons of quality dramatic storytelling. We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved together,” A&E said in a statement.
Entertainment Weekly describes the show as a ‘modern western.’ Robert Taylor played the role of Walt Longmire, sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming. Longmire is recently widowed and recently-challenged by his own Deputy, Branch, but manages to garner enough votes for re-election. That doesn’t ease the burn of finding out that his daughter is secretly romantically linked to Branch.
A running theme throughout the show’s three seasons was finding out who is responsible for his wife’s murder. Even though most of Longmire’s peers, his daughter included, believed her to have died of cancer.
A major cliffhanger in season three left faithful viewers desperate to know if Branch was killed by his father, as the season finale’s final scenes suggested.
[Image: A&E]