The cancellation axe has Swung at NBC. It’s modern-day Russian spy drama, Allegiance was cancelled after 5 low-performing episodes. In its episode from Thursday, March 5, the show attracted 3.4 million viewers, a distant third place finish in the 10pm (ET) time slot behind the series premiere of American Crime on ABC, and Elementary on CBS. Allegiance even followed NBC’s hit The Blacklist, which was moved from Mondays to Thursdays in an attempt to help launch the series, but to no avail. This was clearly a case of too many good shows on one night.
Related: About Allegiance
Related: Interview with Gavin Stenhouse
The drama was about former KGB spies (Hope Davis and Scott Cohen) called back into service by the Russian Government. And now, Mother Russia wants to enlist the help of one of the couple’s children, a brilliant young CIA analyst with a brilliant — yet mysterious — mind. The genius, Alex O’Connor, was played by Gavin Stenhouse and his role was incredibly interesting, but it may have been his portrayal of a character that was repeatedly referred to as “special,” that was the show’s undoing.
I had the pleasure to chat with Stenhouse about the show and he is a delightful chap who is a wonderful actor. I found the show’s premise was incredibly promising: a bright guy solving crimes with his intellect while being spied on by his family. The pilot that I saw featured espionage and intrigue around every corner. And the show has a rich bunch of baddies who did terrible stuff like put someone in a furnace — alive! That’s an incredibly intense way to premiere a series.
One glance at Stenhouse and you know he’s a great looking man. And as the show’s star/hero you want to be attracted to him for his mind as well as his face. But here was where I felt a bit conflicted: throughout the pilot, we’re repeatedly told how “special,” Stenhouse’s character Alex is and that “his mind is different.” We also heard statements that implied he’d undergone some terrible trauma or experience that may have harmed his psyche. Of course, the references were shadowy enough that I worried more about what had happened and I then felt creepy for finding his character hot.
Of course, I start worrying: was he exploited? Abused or neglected? Does he have Aspergers? (because whenever someone on a TV show says someone is “special” and gives that look while the subject is solving a Rubik’s cube, or doing an intense math problem, or in Alex O’Connor’s case, rolling a squash ball obsessively in his hands while blundering through human interactions — that’s the TV message I’m receiving.)
While wanting to know what happens next, worrying about Alex became my focus, which was too bad, because it distracted me from how bad-ass Hope Davis was as momma bear, Katya O’Connor. And Margarita Levieva should keep her phone on; she was heartstopping as Alex’s big sister Natalie — a sexy, slinky, spy. Her services will undoubtedly be requested elsewhere on TV.
To fill the time slot, NBC will move The Slap from 8pm to 10pm, which seems a better fit for that series anyway. Nobody wants to watch a family fall apart at 8pm on a Thursday. But the move means that Allegiance is gone, not simply moved to a better, less competitive night. No word from NBC as to what will air at 8pm or what it will do with the 8 episodes of Allegiance yet to air.
UPDATE (3/11/15) :
I contacted NBC to find out the fate of the 8 unaired episodes of Allegiance and was told that the episodes will be available on NBC.com. The network is unsure of the rollout schedule, but at this moment, the next episode will be available on Friday, March 13.
Here’s the episode description for Allegiance: “Liars and Thieves”
Natalie (Margarita Levieva) must rely on an outsider to hunt down vital information on Black Dagger and risks Victor (Morgan Spector) discovering her plan. Anxious to detain an SVR source before he escapes the country, Sam (Kenneth Choi) and Alex (Gavin Stenhouse) set up a risky sting operation in broad daylight. Meanwhile, Katya (Hope Davis) asks Alex to help throw the task force off track, and the outcome brings him face to face with Victor. Also starring Scott Cohen (Mark O’Connor) and Alex Peters (Sarah O’Connor). Guest starring Floriana Lima (Michelle Prado), Robert John Burke (Special Agent Brock), Haaz Sleiman (Scott Tolliver), and Aleksander Mici (Oleg Zhulov).
Fans of the show are so outraged that they’ve even started an online petition to save the show. Will you Pledge your Allegiance? Sign here
Gavin Stenhouse as Alex O’Connor image: Will Hart/NBC, © 2014 NBCUniversal Media, LLC
Allegiance Cast image: © 2014 NBCUniversal Media, LLC
Email and comment I sent to NBC.
Allegiance was a victim of poor scheduling. There was a huge following for this show. If you had accurate information you would see this. While you do have access to a finite number of viewers who have been selected to participate in the monitoring their veiwing habits, they do not represent everyone.
There are those of us who would appreciate NBC to reconsider the last eight episodes. You could try a different time slot during the summer since its off season. The majority of us would be happy to view it on Netflix or another viable resource. After all you and your partners have already spent the money to produce the episodes, why not recoup the money somewhere.
I am interested in spearheading a campaign to make this happen with a petition. How many signatures would you require? Who would I need to remitt them too? A quick response would be appreciated.
ksouthard9605@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Kevin Southard
STAND UP AND PLEDGE YOUR ALLEGIANCE
Thank you for writing to NBC. I never write comments but, I felt compelled to do so for this show. I am really disappointed that this show was cancelled. It is a smart, mind thinking, intriguing show. I don’t watch NBC because I feel it doesn’t fit what I am interesting in, but Allegiance was an exception. I will gladly sign a petition to have the show going.
Ok, so they have cancelled Allegiance. Now they are going to bring back new episodes of a program that even fans begged to be cancelled….HEROES. Really NBC? What are you thinking. At least there is a great possibility that it will be cancelled after 5.
Giving up after five episodes?.I love this show…move to another evening….finish season 1…..!
Are you kidding me? In just a few weeks it became our favorite show. Really disappointing. Terrific characters and really good acting. Wow…funny thing is that we quit watching Elementary last year!
So sorry to see this very interesting show get cancelled. Can’t figure out why NBC couldn’t give it a better chance!
WTF NBC!! Right when I was coming back to your network bam, slap in the face, the Slap should be canceled not this. 8 more episodes, hell just show them! !
So disappointed tonight. My husband and I looked forward to this show. I can’t believe it was cancelled.
This was an extremely interesting show. I do not think it was given any chance considering it was up against an established powerhouse show like Elementary. I hope someone will reconsider this decision. I found out it was cancelled when I didn’t see a preview for this weeks show and saw it was not scheduled. I decided to Google Allegiance. I am really tired of shows being cancelled. Many of us were invested in shows like Revolution, V, and others. More thought needs to go into these shows-and 8 more episodes-why not air them. A great many of us don’t care for the likes of The Bachelor, Fresh of the Boat, Survivor and other reality shows. I never have written one of theses, don’t know who reads them that would have any say, but just in case I’m going to send this anyway.
This was a great show. So much better than some of the things they are keeping. Will a petition help
Ditto, ditto, ditto…once again-a smart interesting show gets pushed out. At least, please air the rest of the episodes you have.
PLEASE send the unreleased episodes to either HULU or Netflix!! PLEASE!!!!! I’m very sorry to know that this show was cancelled. I truly enjoyed the show and will definitely sign a petition if it ends up going around to get the show back on the air. d
I will be contacting NBC in the morning to see what I can do to get the petition started. It is an amazing show with great, thought provoking subject matter considering the politics and trials going on in the US. Big mistake on NBC’s part.
“SPEAK UP AND SHOW YOUR ALLEGIENCE”
I would like to support Kevin Southard, Please show the rest of the episodes somewhere! My husband and I truly enjoyed the show! We will sign a petition to get it back on air.
Hey NBC, question for you. If you will answer honestly. How many signatures on a petition to get this picked back up? I will start tomorrow. My email, ksouthard9605@gmail.com send me a reply.
I will gladly sign your petition if you get one started!
WTH? I will gladly sign your petition as well. So disappointed to see this news.
What did you find out?
As of yet, after sending emails and comments to NBC, they have yet to answer any requests. Im determined to get through. I will get the name of the program director today in order to start a letter writing campaign. I cannot post a link on here, it gets deleted, so anyone interested in signing the petition send me an email at bring_back_my_show@yahoo.com with Allegiance in the subject header and I will send you a link to the petition and any update.
We dearly love watching the Blacklist, however Allegiance overtook the Blacklist for our viewer enjoyment. Hopefully another station will pick up on Allegiance and we will definitely follow. Not a good move NBC.
The programming execs at NBC are the worst. They cancel all the good stuff, or put it in the wrong time slots on the wrong days. Allegiance was a good show but it didn’t stand a chance against How to Get Away with Murder. I love the Blacklist, but prefer to watch Scandal and play catchup with Blacklist. Get it together NBC. This is about the 5th show that I have liked that has been cancelled too quickly because of bad scheduling.
I am so disappointed this show was cancelled. I wish NBC would show the rest of the episodes.
Why do the good shows always get cancelled? I just love this series. The characters are so real and it is such a good storyline. If NBC has stopped airing it, fine. But please put them on iTunes so those of us who want to buy/watch it can still do so. Now we’re kept wondering what’s gonna happen.
WTF!!! Thanks for wasting my time NBC I think it is a decent show put it on Netflix so the people that like it can finish the remaining episodes.
It’s good and has twists that The Americans doesn’t have! Finish the show NBC!!
My God ,
Give the show a chance .
I agree …so disappointed….I loved this show!!!!
Total crap!!!! NBC is retarded! At least now I know better than to start watching a new series on NBC, it will just be cancelled. At least sell the last 8 episodes to Netflix so that those of us who had brains can finish it.
Why not give the show a chance.