MovieChat Forums > Fastlane (2002) Discussion > Why do you think this show failed?

Why do you think this show failed?


I think its because there isn't a huge market for prime time action shows.Its all drama's and the closest to action is 24. But it adds drama and the unique 24 hour time crap. Maybe Fastlane should have added more drama.






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I heard it was because it was too much money to make.

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From what I read, it was about $2 million an episode to make, which was too much to sustain for it's average or slightly above average ratings. The show deserved better though, it didn't need the excess budget to be as good as it was, and if they had cut the budget it would have been successful.

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the test job was shaky,not enough people watched early on, it was placed in an unfortunate time slot, and the right audience wasn't rebelling against it's cancellation.
it's a cool "cult" show though.

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Yeah it's on the trivia page that it was canceled because it cost $2.6 million per episode to make. At 22 episodes a season that's the cost of a movie.

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A lot of it may come down to bad timing - I think it was actually a little ahead of it's time and if it were just starting out now it would have a much larger audience imo.
Back in 02/03 when it was first airing ''reality'' tv shows were the big thing and everyone seemed to be watching them and a lot of people didn't give Fastlane a chance because it was basicaly the polar opposite of that, now though with the economy the way that it is I think people would be in more of a receptive frame of mind for the kind of escapism and flash Fastlane offered.

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That doesn't make sense. If the producers knew that such an expensive show would not be profitable then why put out so much money? It's because there were not enough viewers to justify the cost of advertising to cover the production cost. Blame the lack of viewers, not the cost.


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Also, a show like this would fare better on hbo or shotime reather than fox.

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While yes, it would have fared far better on a HBO/Showtime. It was expensive, and before DVR service was big. Then the only thing was TiVo (I had it) not many else did. As the rating didnt improve, Fox, which has a history of canceling good shows, put Fastlane in its death slot Friday night at 8pm. When Fox wants a show to fail or never succeed, thats where they go, anyone remember Firefly?

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Way too expensive to make for the timespot and network. Each episode was in the millions not including the actions salaries.

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1. Each ep was far to expensive to make.
2. It was on Fox..and Fox is well known to cancel shows (both good and bad) at the drop of a hat.
3. Some people at the time weren't into action packed shows...they were mostly into the ER, Law & Order, NYPD Blue, and other drama/crime dramas that have been out for a long time....this was a time when ppl wouldn't give anything new a try.

If Fastline came out on tv now..I think it would have a better chance seeing now action pack shows are coming back, like Burn Notice, Leverage, and Chuck. I wish that USA Network (or FX) would have picked up Fastline..they would have known what to do with it. Hell..I'm still upset that Blade the series got canned!

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It was a combination of the high cost per episode and the fact that it got started right before the MLB playoffs which were also on FOX. It would be on one week and off for two or changed to a different day. People lost interest.

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It cost too much to make. Has anyone else mentioned that yet??? The show was too expensive. It required too much money to make the show. Too many $$$ were needed to make it. The funds needed to make the show were too high. It required too much money. The show didn't have enough dollars. The monetary resources were too great.

We get it...I think the OP was looking for something a little more than this.

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