After three seasons, Alert: Missing Persons Unit has come to an end. FOX opted to cancel the show, despite the cliffhanger ending to the third season that made it clear a fourth and final season was necessary. Honestly, it’s time for shows to stop ending on cliffhangers and leaving us with questions when the networks cancel them!
Of course, fans of the series want to understand why FOX opted to cancel the crime drama. Sadly, there wasn’t an outright answer, but we can work it out based on the linear ratings.
Alert: Missing Persons Unit season 3 had lost too many viewers
When Alert: Missing Persons Unit season 3 began, I expected to see it renewed. The linear ratings went up on average from the second season, making it look like plenty more were joining in on the fun. Then the second episode ended, and everything changed for the series.
The linear ratings took a dive with the reveal that Nikki had been killed during the second episode. To be honest, the series wasn’t the same without Dania Ramirez’s character. While I applaud a series for being willing to take a risk, some risks aren’t worth it. This was one of them, when Nikki was the reason so many people were tuning in week after week.
It also didn’t help that the death was senseless. It was purely a creative decision rather than due to Ramirez wanting to leave the show, and that’s something a lot of viewers can’t get behind.
In the end, the show lost 16% of its demo average and 8% of its total audience average, according to TV Series Finale.
Alert was the lowest performer on the network
Despite originally sitting in the middle of the pack of scripted shows, Alert: Missing Persons Unit felt to the bottom of the list of all shows on the network. With this in mind, FOX couldn’t realistically keep the show going. There’s a strong chance that a new series will perform better, and being a new show, there could be lower production costs.
So, while it’s annoying that it all comes down to viewership and money, the TV networks are businesses. They need to operate in a profit, and if a series isn’t performing linearly, the advertisers are going to pull out funding.
It’s a shame, though, as the series ended with a major cliffhanger, as it turns out that Wayne seems to have been playing everyone since she first met Jason. Now we’re left wondering whether any of Jason and Wayne’s relationship is genuine.
Alert: Missing Persons Unit is available to stream on Hulu.
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