Has 'Bluff City Law' been canceled? Fans speculate over NBC legal drama's fate following debut season's poor ratings
NBC's latest legal drama 'Bluff City Law' arrived at the procedural scene to positive fan reactions. With its rare Memphis setting winning over the city dwellers via accurate representation and iconic TV lawyer Jimmy Smits making his comeback in the role as the show's protagonist Elijah Strait - almost everything seemed to be working for the show that wrapped its first season on November 26. But as the show culminated its debut installment, the question looming overhead is whether or not it will be picked up for a second season. And while NBC wrapped the first season in just a 10-episode arc, the only respite for fans, right now, is that nobody has officially announced that the show has been canceled.
For those unaware of the series, here's what 'Bluff City Law' entails: "Coming from a famous Memphis family known for taking on injustice, brilliant lawyer Sydney Strait (Caitlyn McGee) used to work at her father Elijah's celebrated law firm until their tumultuous relationship got in the way. After barely speaking to him for years, Sydney is suddenly thrust back into the family fold when her philanthropist mother passes away unexpectedly. In the wake of her loss, hoping to reconnect with the daughter he loves, Elijah asks Sydney to rejoin his firm. She agrees because, despite her lingering resentment and distrust, she knows that working alongside her father is her best hope at changing the world... if they can ever get along."
With a riveting family drama twisting and turning at every second acting as a latent catalyst for the primarily legal procedural, it's a little shocking how the show failed to sit well with television critics. The TV ratings weren't all that worth bragging about either, with an overall a 0.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic - not a good sign for obvious reasons. On top of that, shows tend to drop in their viewership ratings as they venture into the second season, so for a debut one to flop this bad, things can never look good when the ax is hanging overhead. This could also be possibly why NBC cut it short for 'Bluff City Law' with just 10 episodes this season, as opposed to the otherwise common 22-24 episode arc for the debut season.
The only thing worth considering here on the brighter side of things is that there has been no official confirmation or announcement of cancellation. So if all fails, out of some luck or fan appeal, NBC might consider continuing with the show for a second installment. But all of that is wishful thinking about how network-related stuff works in theory; and even taking that into account, there's no denying the upcoming winter-break season where most networks drop new shows depending on TV ratings.
What's also absolutely undeniable here is the raging fan reaction there has been on social media with regards to the prospect of 'Bluff City Law' being canceled. "I read this evening that Bluff City Law has been canceled. That is the most disappointing. It's a great show," shared one fan on Twitter. Another fan just straight up appealed to NBC, begging for them to go easy with the ax. "Please don’t cancel this show!! Bluff City Law is original and a worthy show!! We want to see it come back for season 2!!" tweeted the fan. There's even an active petition going around for NBC to not cancel the show, and with that gaining social media traction on the daily, the whole situation just remains open-ended.
