There’s good news and bad news to report if you watched USA’s freshman dramas this past summer. Satisfaction has been renewed for a second season, while medical drama Rush has been cancelled.
The network has ordered 10 episodes for Satisfaction season 2, which is expected to air in summer 2015.
“Satisfaction sparked a cultural conversation about modern love and marriage in today’s world,” USA Network President Chris McCumber said in a statement. “We’re excited to see where Sean Jablonski takes this thought-provoking series in season 2.”
Jeff Wachtel, President and CCO of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, added, “Sean Jablonski and Russ Krasnoff, Matt Passmore, Stephanie Szostak and the rest of our world-class creative team on Satisfaction have led us on a fascinating storytelling journey that our studio is excited to continue bringing to life. USA is a fantastic partner in creating programming that we believe will stand the test of time.”
Satisfaction centers on Neil and Grace Truman, a couple at a crossroads in their marriage. Grace gets involved with a male escort, and her husband, through various circumstances, is enveloped into the business in a different way. Season 1 ended with a cliffhanger, so for viewers it’s a good thing they’ll be able to see what happens next.
The series stars Matt Passmore, Stephanie Szostak, Michelle DeShon, Katherine LaNasa, Blair Redford and Deanna Russo.
Fans of Rush, on the other hand, were left with a cliffhanger as well at the end of season, though there won’t be a second season to resolve it. The drama followed William Rush, a private doctor who caters to the elite in Los Angeles.
As far as the ratings are concerned, both series debuted to 1.7 million viewers, though Satisfaction received a 0.5 in the demo and Rush had a 0.4. By the end of the season, the former ended up with 1.3 million viewers and a 0.4 in the demo for the finale, with the latter drawing in 1.6 million and a 0.3. So while more viewers watched the medical drama, Satisfaction was higher with the demo rating. Also helping in the decision was the fact that Satisfaction fared better in Live+7 DVR playback, not to mention that it is produced by an in-house studio, while Rush is from another studio and more expensive to produce.
One of the criticisms of Rush when it premiered was that it seemed too much like other shows on USA, whereas Satisfaction was new territory for the network and thus had better creative potential. BuddyTV visited the sets of both shows this past summer — if you want to hear what the cast of Satisfaction had to say click here, and for Rush click here.
As far as USA’s other summer shows are concerned, Deadline is reporting that Graceland is close to receiving a renewal for season 3, though there is no word yet on the fates of Playing House, Royal Pains or Covert Affairs.
Are you excited that Satisfaction has been renewed? Are you surprised that Rush was cancelled? And were you hoping to have that cliffhanger at the airplane hangar resolved with a second season?
(Image courtesy of USA)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
Jeff Dodge, a graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena.
