Shades of Blue was a police drama series that aired on NBC from 2016 to 2018. The show starred Jennifer Lopez as Harlee Santos, a detective in the NYPD who gets caught up in corruption and forced to work as an informant for the FBI. Despite strong ratings and reviews in its first season, NBC unexpectedly cancelled Shades of Blue after the conclusion of season 3. There are several factors that likely contributed to the network’s decision to discontinue the series.
Declining Viewership
While Shades of Blue debuted to an impressive 7.6 million viewers in its first episode, the audience declined steadily over the course of its 3 season run. Season 2 saw an average viewership of 5.68 million, down from 6.9 million in season 1. The drop continued into season 3, which averaged only 3.58 million viewers. The 25% decline from season 2 to 3 was likely a major factor in NBC’s decision to pull the plug. Most networks expect to see a show’s audience grow over time or at least plateau. The consistent downward trend made it hard to justify continuing despite the show’s positive reviews.
| Season | Average Viewership |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | 6.9 million |
| Season 2 | 5.68 million |
| Season 3 | 3.58 million |
High Production Costs
Shades of Blue was not a cheap show to produce. It featured extensive location shooting in New York City, a large main cast, and high profile guest stars. Jennifer Lopez’s substantial salary also added to the bottom line. Estimates put the production budget around $6 million per episode. While the viewership was solid during season 1, it likely dropped below a level that justified the hefty price tag by season 3. NBC had a fiduciary duty to shareholders and advertisers. Paying upward of $6 million for an episode reaching only 3-4 million viewers was probably determined to be unsustainable.
Jennifer Lopez’s Busy Schedule
As one of the most popular stars in the world, Jennifer Lopez has an extremely busy schedule across movies, TV, and her music career. During the run of Shades of Blue, she was also serving as a judge on World of Dance and prepping her residency show in Las Vegas. Juggling multiple major commitments made scheduling difficult and likely played into NBC’s thought process. Producing a network drama around one mega star’s availability becomes challenging. With no end to Lopez’s packed slate in sight, it was easier for NBC to simply cancel the show rather than try to continually work around her.
NBC’s New Direction
The 2016-17 season was a turning point for NBC. After many years languishing in fourth place among major networks, NBC rebounded to number one on the strength of breakout hits like This Is Us and The Good Place. This represented a shift towards emotionally-driven comedies and dramas. In looking at its new primetime lineup, network executives likely felt Shades of Blue no longer fit the brand identity they were cultivating. NBC’s content strategy clearly moved towards more lighthearted, uplifting shows with a softer tone. The gritty cop drama may have felt out of step with the network’s new direction.
Increasing Content Options
When Shades of Blue premiered in 2016, the TV landscape looked quite different than in 2018 when it ended. Streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime were rapidly changing viewer habits and taking market share from traditional networks. With subscribers shifting more towards on-demand watching, NBC faced stiffer competition for live weekly audiences. Their economics were also pressured, making an expensive show with declining viewership harder to justify. In a world with 500+ scripted series, broadcast networks had to be more cutthroat with underperformers. The boom in content OPTIONS LIKELY SEALED Shades of Blue’s fate.
Conclusion
While it had a notable star in Jennifer Lopez and earned strong reviews, Shades of Blue faced the cold hard realities of the TV business. As viewership and advertising revenue dropped in the face of rising costs, NBC decided the cop drama no longer made financial sense. Lopez’s busy schedule and the network’s new brand direction also contributed to the cancellation decision after season 3. With so many choices, viewers are quick to move onto the next hot series. Networks have become less patient when shows demonstrate a downward trajectory. Despite the creative strengths of Shades of Blue, the underlying numbers and strategy simply did not add up in its favor anymore.
