Netflix is considering picking up the fourth season of Longmire, which is great news for fans of the show who did not like the way A&E dropped it after three seasons with no closure. As I noted earlier, I think this was a dumb decision for A&E and hopefully Netflix will see an opportunity to revive a great program, as it did with the fourth season of The Killing (though a fifth season of The Killing is not in the works).
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Longmire was dropped because of its audience:
A&E said it pulled the plug on "Longmire" because it appeals
primarily to older viewers—the median age of the show's viewers is 60
versus 48 for the network as a whole.
That's just great. A show that appeals to older viewers, and even pokes fun at a sheriff who doesn't own a cell phone, is dropped because not enough teenagers have time to watch quality television. What a brilliant strategy, A&E. The WSJ article later noted this short-sightedness:
Advertisers acknowledge they place a premium on younger viewers but some
think it is shortsighted to ignore aging baby boomers and cling to
those old clichés that people over the age 50 are less likely to change
brands.
Let's hope Netflix is a little smarter.
Update: Netflix has renewed Longmire for a fourth season. Ten new episodes should appear in 2015. Who knows, but this may be the start of a whole new life for the show with more seasons. Of course, even one solid season with closure is welcome.
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