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Questions on this page
1. Why the concern?
2. Is the show cancelled?



1. Why the concern?
Well, here's what Kyle over at Stuckeyville says (it's one of the best explanations I've found so far):
"The television season is over, and final numbers are in. Out of 151 primetime series aired in 2000-01, "Ed" placed...

55th.

To provide perspective, one of the two shows it tied with ("Nash Bridges") was cancelled by CBS for "unfavorable demographics" and "low ratings", and the other ("That 70`s Show") is a Fox sitcom.

This isn`t a hit show yet, ladies and gentlemen. Ratings for new episodes in May were flat; in the fall, it will be going up against "60 Minutes II," which will cut into its key demographic (25-49) and most likely decrease its overall national ratings."

Jeff Zucker came in last December when Garth Ancier was fired as NBC Entertainment president. Ancier was behind the massive push for "Ed" during the Olympics, and was its #1 cheerleader at the network. Zucker is not as high on "Ed" as his predecessor - in a recent CNBC interview, he mentioned "Friends," "ER," and "Weakest Link" as his favorite NBC shows, and said he was working to develop more sitcoms and reality shows.

When the show moved to Wednesdays last December, it was regularly creamed in the ratings by Regis. Once ABC began running lower-rated sitcoms instead, ratings for "Ed" did not improve.

The national ratings for "Ed" have hovered between 7 and 8 all year (the average for all shows is 7.3), but in the key index of viewers aged 18-49, ratings have been steadily declining since January, bottoming out with a 4.1 for episode #21.

The 151 shows include the series on the "lesser" UHF networks: UPN and the WB. Eliminate those, and "Ed" finishes 55th out of 108... not even in the top half of the table.

So you can see the reason for the concern. While the show is a critical darling and has a good fan following, this is probably not enough to keep the show on the air. So many shows like this (Sports Night and Freaks and Geeks) have fallen to the wayside, even with the fans support behind it.

But all is not lost. Other shows ("Once and Again", "Felicity", and "Party of Five") have survived due to the LARGE amount of help from the fans writing letters and joining together to save those shows. We can do it! But we all need to participate and write a letter. All it needs to cover is how much you want Ed to stay on the air.

2. Is the show cancelled?
No. The show will have a second season. But we need to start our campaign right now, to keep the show coming back after this second season. Fight the fight before it's over. Once it's gone, they don't bring it back. We have to do it while it's still alive.