Life's move to Wednesday nights seems to have saved it for this season, at the very least.  The ratings for NBC's newest police drama has shown a considerable improvement after seeing it grapple with cancellation-level ratings during its Friday time slot.  (Then again, what else do you expect for shows that are aired on Fridays?)  Now, the series is assured to last for an entire season, as the network has ordered a full season for the freshman drama.

The question, of course, is whether the rating spikes will be enough.  Sure, NBC has given Life a second chance, but it serves as a wake-up call for the producers of the series.  The detective drama's first Wednesday ratings showed it getting fourth place on its time slot, but it is a marked improvement over its average performance on its Friday slot.  There's also a lot of viewers outside the time slot—DVR viewing, for instance, or online viewing.

Last week was Life's second outing on a Wednesday, and its performance was pretty consistent.  With ABC's airing of the CMA Awards taking the top spot, Life scored fourth place on its time slot with 5.83 million viewers, being beaten by Fox's House and CBS' Criminal Minds.  If it's any consolation, it performed slightly better than the much-heralded remake of Knight Rider, which despite being given a full season is still receiving some flak.  Nevertheless, there's no denying that possibility that the first season of Life might be the last season of Life.

Anyway, on this Wednesday's episode, an investigation into the murders of a drug dealer and an elementary teacher takes a turn when the team realize the teacher is a “badge bunny”—in other words, someone who exclusively dates cops.  Could the killer be someone within their ranks?  Damian Lewis and Sarah Shahi return to Life on October 19 from 9pm on NBC.


-Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: NBC, TV by the Numbers
(Image courtesy of NBC)