'Damages': Will DirecTV save the struggling show?

Talk of “Damages’” imminent cancellation started all the way back with this season’s premiere, which only averaged 1.43 million viewers. The ratings that followed continued to be disappointing, with the show averaging less than a million viewers. But has Sony, the company that produces "Damages," found a lifeline for the struggling show?

According to Entertainment Weekly, Sony has approached DirecTV to partner with them on a fourth season. The arrangement would be similar to the NBC / DirecTV deal that saved “Friday Night Lights.”

Reportedly, producing “Damages” is just too expensive to shoulder alone with such low viewership. If the satellite TV provider assumes some of the cost of producing the show, DirecTV’s 101 Network would air the episodes first, then they would run on FX.

According to TV By The Numbers, a top TV ratings blog, the chances are slim that DirecTV will want to get in on this deal.

“There’s nothing in this for DirecTV or anyone else,” states the site. “ ‘Friday Night Lights’ was no star for NBC on Friday nights prior to the arrangement with DirecTV, it was a total rock star compared to ‘Damages.’  Also, DirecTV makes a market in football exclusives (aka NFL Sunday Ticket) so there was at least thematically something that made sense.”

At this time, Sony has not returned our requests for comment.

How do you feel about the FX show's chances for survival?

-- Jethro Nededog (Follow me on Twitter @TheRealJethro)

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Photo: From left, Glenn Close, Tate Donovan and Rose Byrne, the stars of "Damages." Credit: FX

Comments

[Ray]

"Damages" is one of the best shows on television. Like "Deadwood", it will become a victim of cancellation due to low ratings.

[Darlene de Sedle]

I think Damages is the best show on Cable..it would be terrible if it is canceled
please do something if DirectTV doesn't bite..maybe more advertising but then again people without cable because they cannot afford it will never know what they are missing.

[CVo]

Damages is the only legal show I'll watch. Glenn Close is so good and the plots are always interesting. I don't think FX does enough to advertise it. Are they counting the on-demand viewings in the ratings? That's the only way I watch most shows now.

[Adam]

Damages was once a great show. Seasons 1 was an amazing white-knuckle thrill ride. Season 2 was a great suspenseful mystery. Now it is just a cure for insomnia. I can not sit through an entire episode of season 3. The show has lost it's way. Lilly Tomlin and Martin Short being cast on Damages, now that's comedy. They are both great talents but casting them in Damages is comical.

Please put this show out of its misery so it can attempt to go out on a high note.

[Isa in San Diego]

I think "Damages" is the best cable show out there, but I would not be surprised by the cancellation. Disappointed, yes. It's too bad so many viewers prefer vapid dramas and lame comedies over excellent acting and intriguing plots. Please save the show - and us! - DirectTV!

[Jack Henry]

The creators are stuck in a structural trap. Their time-shifting gimmick was organic to season one and made it great to watch, but imposing it again in seasons two and three just doesn't work. Too much editorial style over story-telling substance. Also, the budget cuts to the production make it play like a daytime soap opera, all bright lights and bad angles. FX should let it go.

[markiejoe]

Saving the flatlining Damages with beaucoup $$$ would be the dumbest thing DirecTV ever did.

And they've done some really dumb things!

[David Dollinger]

Easily the best show on TV, cable and network. A pleasure to have Glen Close in my home every week. I am not surprised that it doesn't have ratings that it deserves, but alas it wouldn't be the first show that deserves to be continued.

[Jay Floyd]

I'm still kind of numb over what's being illuminated here. Why is it that excellence doesn't attract ratings, but mediocrity does? Though DAMAGES has in fact been damaged by the last and current seasons, it's still far better TV than most of what's available elsewhere. Really -- why doesn't quality catch on in this country?

As to the comment above about Tomlin and Short -- Tomlin will win an Emmy for this performance. She's outstanding on this show. Short is holding his own.

[Chuck]

damages is great. Season 2 wallowed a bit, but I think season 3 has recovered the shine. Too bad no one came back to notice. And it might help if FX ran the repeats at a more decent hour. Midnight on Monday isn't going to grab many eyes, or even DVRs.

[Cathy]

Absolutely the best show on TV, however, if you miss one frame of it, you could be lost. If you didn't start with Season 1, it's hard to jump on now.

[Ray]

The entire series is great. Not comparing seasons 1 with any other season, it has been a tremendously entertaining show and it would be horrible to end it now with just three episodes left. It deserves a proper ending.

[bedtimeforbonzo]

Jay: I agree with you that Adam was off the mark. But while I think Tomlin has been excellent, I've really been taken in by Martin Short's Leonard Winstone.

And Adam: Both performances have been on the tragic side, definitely not comic.

[Tracy Salvador]

Damages is one of the best shows on TV.
Is this show in trouble... a comment on peoples taste these days? So sad. How can we save this show?

[adam]

bedtimeforbonzo you are absolutely right. The performances of Tomlin and Short are definitely tragic. What's comical is their casting. Clearly a publicity stunt that failed. The "damage" has been done as viewers are fleeing the show in droves.

At one time it was the best show on television, but those days are over. DirecTV , save your money, pull the plug and let this show die with the little dignity it has left.

[Evan]

adam you are completely wrong on the casting. Lily Tomlin went up to the producers of Damages BEGGING them to let her be on the show. She loved the show and wanted to be in the newest season, so her casting was no stunt. And Short was a fantastic choice and i doubt was done for publicity. This is one of my favorite shows of all time and needs to come back, PLEASE FX and Sony figure something out!

[adam]

Hmm, that backstory is interesting Evan. I guess you're right, the casting wasn't for publicity, since the show is not getting any.

[JC]

I find it hilarious that one of the comments says get more advertising. The reason FX is canceling it is because of LOW ratings which means that advertisors do not want to put money into a show that no one is watching.

[Joanne]

It's hard for me to accept that this show is being cancelled. I have friends all over the country that love Damages, so it's hard for me to believe the low ratings.
Wouldn't it be great if HBO picked it up?

[Greg]

FX has done a terrible job of supporting Damages this season. We like to watch the show via our cable system's On Demand option, the only HD offering for us. One week after the Damages finale, the last two episodes, including the ending, are still not available. I asked Comcast about the extremely late availability, and they placed the blame squarely on FX, saying they can only make available what the networks provide. This has been a season long issue - Damages HD episodes only available via On Demand at least several weeks after initial airing, and then only for a few weeks.