If you thought the V season 2 finale was phenomenal, apparently the best has yet to come. In an interview with EW, V executive producer Scott Rosenbaum shared his gripes about the shortened season and what he has planned for a third season if ABC decides to pick it up again.
“We had been given an initial episode order of 13, so I had planned a 22-episode season,” Rosenbaum told EW. “When they reduced the order, I had to make a decision. I didn’t feel like it was possible to wrap the show in that amount of time, so I said, ‘You know, I’m going to hope there’s another season, because I’ve pushed the story too far [and] it won’t make sense [to conclude it this soon]. I don’t feel like the audience will feel like we’ve earned those moments.’ So I’m going to keep my fingers crossed and leave it organically where I think the show should end after 10 episodes. I went with hope, and tried to make it feel like a satisfying conclusion.”
He continued, “It’s risky to cancel a show that’s actually garnering some buzz for the network and instead role the dice on something untested.” While that is true, unfortunately it all comes down to ratings. Though this week’s finale managed to reel in 5.3 million viewers (1.8/5 rating in the 18-49 demo) and jump 6% compared to last week, the episode was down 14% from last year’s finale. V is not the ratings boon it deserves to be, but it’s also not ABC’s worst performer; Detroit 1-8-7 (1.3/4) and No Ordinarily Family (0.9/3) have seen their better days.
But let’s end things on a positive note. According to EW, “Rosenbaum says he’s always wanted at least one full season to properly set up the conflict” between the Fifth Column (erm, Project Aries) and the Visitors. Unfortunately he has never received the opportunity to do so since this season was shortened and season one was only alloted 12 episodes in total. He concludes, “What’s so interesting is I feel like the best of the show is ahead of itself.”
Adds star Elizabeth Mitchell: “I fought so hard and so did everyone else. All of the writers, all of the actors, we all tried to put our best foot forward. I feel like we’ve given it everything we can. We’ll see what happens.”
“Mother’s Day” left viewers with a major cliffhanger, so many deaths, and most importantly it opened up windows of imaginative opportunity. This show has never felt so alive; it would be a damn shame if ABC doesn’t give it a chance to shine.