FX hasn’t had much luck lately with original dramas staying around longer than a single season. The network has decided not to renew the boxing drama Lights Out for a second season. With a strong performance by Holt McCallany (Fight Club) as a washed-out former heavyweight champion looking for a comeback, the show was a critical darling but following in the footsteps of the drama Terriers, it could never sustain an audience. It premiered in January with 1.5 million viewers but would slip throughout its run, netting an average of 863,000 per first-run episode.
But was the series cancellation more about the viewers or the subject matter? Well, FX president John Landgraf agrees with the latter. “The audience didn’t want to watch a show about boxing.”
FX still has the original dramas Justified (now in its second season) and Sons of Anarchy. Its fourth season will begin airing in September 2011.
