Farewell: CBS's
'Three Rivers' runs dry
Network puts the show on hiatus after hitting a series low
By Diego Vasquez
Dec 1, 2009
The question isn't really whether "Three Rivers," the poorly reviewed first-year CBS medical drama placed on hiatus yesterday, will be back.
It's whether "Cold Case," the veteran drama that led out of "Rivers" on Sunday night, can be revived after hitting series lows in recent weeks.
To the surprise of no one, CBS yanked "Rivers" from the schedule effective immediately, although the network stopped just short of canceling the struggling show.
"Rivers" will finish production on its 13-episode order, although no return date has been slated for the drama, about a team of organ transplant doctors in Pittsburgh.
"Rivers" premiered to the second-lowest rating for any new show this season, averaging a 1.9 in adults 18-49.
It slid in the weeks since. In its most recent outing, "Rivers" averaged a 1.7.
CBS had hoped that "Rivers" would benefit from airing behind "The Amazing Race," the 8 p.m. reality show that's often its top-rated show on Sunday nights, and before "Case," a strong performer among households.
But "Rivers" regularly dropped more than a third of "Race's" lead-in, and it was sapping "Case's" strength at 10 p.m., too.
"Case" hit a series low among 18-49s several weeks ago with virtually no lead-in support from "Rivers."
CBS decided to swap "Case" and "Rivers" earlier this month to see if "Case" could improve. Airing at 9 p.m., "Case" improved on "Rivers'" performance the previous week by 17 percent, proving that the seventh-year drama still has some juice.
"Case" will move permanently to 9 p.m., the slot it occupied last year. Reruns of "Criminal Minds," "Cold Case" and "NCIS: Los Angeles" will rotate through the 10 p.m. slot until CBS finds a more permanent replacement next year.
In the meantime, it seems possible that the network will burn off episodes of "Rivers" on Saturday night later this season, a tactic it used with the low-rated "Harper's Island" last season.
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