Two Atlanta TV cancellations: "Spartan Team Challenge" and "Hap & Leonard"
Posted Wednesday, May 16, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
While it's fun to announce new shows coming to Atlanta, the ebb and flow of TV production means departures are inevitable. Here are two more:
NBC's "Spartan Team Challenge," which was shot in metro Atlanta for two seasons, is not coming back, a spokesman confirmed to me Tuesday. The obstacle course-based show couldn't quite capture the audience that "American Ninja Warrior" built on the network though its Live + 7 Nielsen numbers on the surface didn't look that bad: 4.5 million in 2017 vs. 4.2 million in 2016.
Sundance's "Hap & Leonard" wrapped after three seasons. The past two seasons were shot in metro Atlanta. The show averaged 340,000 viewers in 2017 based on Live + 7 numbers, the 50th most popular prime time show shot in Atlanta out of 54 measured. The novelist Joe R. Lansdale - whose books the show was based on - did note on social media that it was the most popular show on Sundance. But it's all relative. Sundance doesn't generate a lot of ratings in general.
http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/hap-and-leonard-canceled-sundance-tv-1202811490/
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
