Almost Human Pushed Back 2 Weeks

Almost Human was set to premiere just two weeks from tonight. People were practically counting down the hours and tuned in to tonight’s episode of Bones in droves just for a sneak peak of the show.  The sneak peak itself was fabulous (I love the term “ro-bromance” so thank you for that), but the news that came with it was pretty heartbreaking for people who have been waiting months for the show.  Almost Human has been delayed for two weeks and will now have a two night premiere on Sunday November 17th and Monday November 18th.

Fans are understandably outraged.   I present to you this comment found in the Tumblr tag without comment.

The move appears to be prompted by the possibility of drawing in football fans after Sundays double header.  While this could be helpful for bringing in a demographic that typically doesn’t watch science fiction, it’s angering the core base of the show that already has its doubts about FOX’s ability to treat a sci fi drama with respect (over a decade later we still remember what happened to Firefly and we won’t soon forget).  The decision is all about a play for ratings, which is (unfortunately for us) what the studio executives focus on.  The fans that buy the merchandise, attend the conventions, and (excessively) tweet about the show, however, are often ignored in favor of the larger ratings picture. This is just a sad fact of life for the average geeky TV viewer.

The difference between this and what happened to Firefly is that FOX has trusted JJ Abrams with science fiction on their network before with fabulous results.  Though Joss Whedon had Buffy and Angel under his belt, he was new to FOX and they largely underestimated the fanbase.  Also, though I will always be a Whedonite, Abrams is arguably much bigger at this point in his career than Whedon was when Firefly was on the air.  Another key difference is that the move seems to be designed to bring in new viewers, whereas the moves with Firefly seemed to be to largely ignore the show and hope it died a quiet death.  Over all the situations are quite different and, while I’m very upset, I’m optimistic that this isn’t a repeat performance.

Hopefully the gambit pays off and Almost Human has a long an illustrious run on the network.  It has all the elements of a show with staying power. We have a well known show runner behind the wheel, two handsome actors in a “ro-bromance,” great special effects, and a ton of sass.  It just needs to be given a chance.  Fingers crossed that this move increases its chances, despite how upset we all are about the decision.

Almost Human premieres November 4th November 17th 8pm on FOX

Author: Angel Wilson

Angel is the admin of The Geekiary and a geek culture commentator. They earned a BA in Film & Digital Media from UC Santa Cruz. They have contributed to various podcasts and webcasts including An Englishman in San Diego, Free to Be Radio, and Genre TV for All. They identify as queer.

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