dollhouse

Fox Promises Not to Cancel Dollhouse Until Next Year

More good news today for endangered TV! Following yesterday’s report that Dollhouse has a higher percentage of DVR viewers than nearly any other program, Fox scheduling chief Preston Beckman has pledged to air all thirteen episodes of the show’s current second season, even though its ratings are still pretty abysmal. So he’s bound by his word to give you at least eight more, even if you’re the only one watching. His terrific reasoning, after the jump.

First, don’t get your hopes up for a third season. Says Beckman: “We’re not saying we’re happy with those numbers, or accept them, but we don’t have to overreact. During [November] sweeps we might have to jack up the numbers a little [with other programming], but we plan on completing the order for this show.” Only after all thirteen have aired, he says, will the network make a decision on an additional order.

As such, Joss Whedon says he’s writing Dollhouse’s season-two finale in such a way that it could serve as a series finale if it had to:

“We’ll definitely have closure, but will leave some doors open … When we got our first numbers, which were bad, the first thing [Fox president of entertainment] Kevin Reilly said was, ‘You’ll have all 13,’ which was great. They’re not going to pull the rug out from under us.”

So why would Fox commit to airing more episodes of a show whose ratings it could probably beat with a test pattern? Evidently because Beckman is afraid of name-calling:

“If you cancel it, you’re an asshole; if you renew it and then don’t put it back on, you’re an asshole… I’m still paying for Terminator. Dollhouse has a small rabid fan base that in the world of social media seems bigger than it is. We gave them another season knowing full well we were going to burn in hell if we pulled it.”

So keep up the good work, crazy people!

Fox: We will air all 13 ‘Dollhouse’ episodes [Live Feed/HR]

Fox Promises Not to Cancel Dollhouse Until Next Year