Damien

Status: Cancelled
Aired: 2016 (1 Season Totaling 10 Episodes)
Network: A&E
Starring: Bradley James, Barbara Hershey, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Omid Abtahi
Series Website: www.aetv.com/shows/damien

Description: Damien, from Fox 21 Television Studios and executive producer Glen Mazzara, is a follow-up to the classic horror film, The Omen. The show follows the adult life of Damien Thorn, the mysterious child from the 1976 motion picture, who has grown up seemingly unaware of the satanic forces around him. Haunted by his past, Damien must now come to terms with his true destiny – that he is the Antichrist. aetv.com

Why Was It Cancelled? A&E announced the cancellation of this show on May 20th. It pulled low ratings throughout its first season run, averaging just a 0.2 score based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic and it did not see much in the way of delayed viewing gains (the cable channels give more weight to those stats than the broadcast nets). Its numbers were below cancelled The Returned which averaged a 0.4 score in the same timeslot last year, and Damien was typically losing over half the audience from its lead-in Bates Motel. The cancellation announcement does not come as a huge surprise based on the low ratings, though it is often hard to predict the cable shows because they bring in international financing and partnerships that allow them to survive with very low scores in U.S. audience viewership. WGN’s Salem is heading into its third season after barely averaging a 0.1 rating during its second year, and Syfy’s Dark Matter and Killjoys averaged a 0.2 rating last Summer and are both returning for a second season. Apparently Damien, which acted as a sequel to the 1976 feature film, did not have sufficient global backing to keep it going and it wraps up its run after one year.

Season to Date (StD) Ratings Results:

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