NBC drama “Ordinary Joe,” which focuses on three different possible “life lines” for one person, is not coming back after a single season.
The show, which aired its 13th and final episode Jan. 24, was shot in metro Atlanta but set in New York.
James Wolk (”Mad Men,” “Watchmen”) starred as Joe Kimbreau, who makes three different decisions out of college that lead him on three “Sliding Door” paths: a cop following in his late dad’s footsteps, a successful singer-songwriter who loves Billy Joel, and a nurse trying to support his wife’s dreams of being an attorney while raising a special needs child.
The overlapping storylines often have parallel themes with Joe’s original decision shaping his future decisions in often surprising, sometimes wonderful and occasionally destructive ways. The nurse storyline takes the love of his life to Atlanta, where Joe lands in the final episode.
When “Ordinary Joe” debuted, the show received generally favorable reviews with a 64 out of 100 on Metacritic among TV critics and a passable 6.8/10 among 2,500 users on IMDb.com.
“Ordinary Joe” opened with OK ratings but a six-week Christmas break did the show no favors. Overnight ratings dropped by a third when the final four episodes aired in January. In all, it was unable to find traction in a challenging environment where broadcast television is struggling to find any big hits among its new drama offerings this season. (Fox also canceled “The Big Leap” this week and ABC recently shunted “The Promised Land” to Hulu.)
NBC’s other new drama, the twisty sci-fi offering “La Brea,” was renewed for a second season with significantly higher ratings.
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