"Longmire" has been cancelled apparently because the audience is too old for advertisers. However, critics say the viewers of the show may just surprise the advertisers if they didn't ignore them. Lou Diamond Phillips asks fans to be patient and hints that things are happening.
Despite garnering good ratings and being a popular show, "Longmire" met the axe from A&E because its viewers were apparently too old. In response to this, writer Annabelle Gurwitch said via The Hollywood Reporter that there was an advertising bias going on. The over 50 viewership was disregarded and considered to already have "one foot in the grave." However, Gurwitch argues that the over 50 crowd may quickly become the largest demographic in America and that the average life span of an American citizen goes well beyond 50.
"It also just so happens that 50-plus-ers account for 75 percent of the disposable income in America," Gurwitch noted.
Gurwitch asked advertisers not to write "over 50's" like her off, and even explained her changing expenses to say that they are a market that is not "immutable." However, according to an exec from A&E that spoke to The Hollywood Reporter exclusively, the cancellation was not about the age of the audience but rather about the ownership. "The studio model is broken and networks just aren't able to monetize series that underperform in the key demos advertisers covet if they don't own a piece of it," says the unnamed exec.
According to Enstarz, this means that advertisers have "too much power when it comes to content."
This isn't to say that the future of "Longmire" is completely down the drain, however. According to the article, "If 'Longmire' does find a new home for Season 4, it will likely return with new episodes during the later half of 2015."
Christian Post says that even the author of "Walt Longmire," Craig Johnson, was surprised to know about the sudden death of the series based off his book. Johnson was also the one to say that the show should consider going elsewhere if A&E is not happy with them. Also according to the article, Warner Bros. TV has been working on a presentation to highlight the show's performance and the plans for the fourth season, which will hopefully land it a new home.
Enstarz shares that "Longmire" has been presented to Amazon and Netflix, though no one has given a formal statement about any intent on the show. The article also lists the show as "A&E's highest scripted drama and second most popular program on the network." NWA Online further reveals that the show had an average of 5.6 million viewers, giving it a bigger audience than "Mad Men" on AMC.
While the future of the show is still murky, actor Lou Diamond Phillips asks fans to be patient. To revive the hopes of fans, Lou Diamond Phillips (Henry Standing Bear) took to Twitter to say that "Things are happening." His tweet further said: "These things take time & can be complicated."
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