Israel-Inspired Reality Show Cancelled

Image by Courtesy of CBS

By Curt Schleier August 1, 2012

The CBS reality show “3” did not set any records — with its ratings or the speed with which it was cancelled.

Image by Courtesy of CBS

Based on an Israeli series, “3” is about three women brought together in a search for love. It debuted July 26 in a special Thursday preview before a paltry 2.4 million viewers. It then moved to what was supposed to be its regular Sunday time slot on July 29 and did even worse, attracting just 1.8 million viewers.

It was cancelled two days later. But that second episode saved the show from the ignominy shared by five other programs — all cancelled after just one episode. These include “Public Morals” (CBS, 1996); “Lawless” (Fox, 1997); “Emily’s Reasons Why Not” (ABC, 2006); “Anchorwoman” (Fox, 2007), and “Quarter Life” (NBC, 2008).

Don’t be upset if you don’t recognize their names — that’s why they were cancelled. In “3’s” defense, none of these programs competed against the summer Olympics.

“3” was a major hit on Israeli TV, enjoying among the largest reality program ratings there. It was offered to CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler while she was on a Jewish Federation mission Israel, which apparently proves the old adage that no good deed goes unpunished.

Curt Schleier is a freelance writer and author who covers business and the arts for a variety of publications. Follow him on Twitter at @tvsoundoff.

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