ABC has opted not to pick up additional episodes of new legal drama Conviction beyond its original 13-episode order. The series, starring Hayley Atwell, is not being pulled from the schedule. It will stay on the air, playing out its 13 produced episodes, though the drama won’t necessarily stay in its Monday 10 PM time slot for all of the remaining eight episodes.
While this is not a cancellation, as ABC is retaining an option to order a second season and is keeping the options on the cast. historically, it has been virtually impossible for a new series that could’ve gotten a back order but didn’t to score a second-season renewal, especially at the ratings levels of Conviction.
Conviction, from the Mark Gordon Co. and ABC Studios, got off to a slow start with a 0.9 Live+Same Day rating for its series premiere, below the season opener of the show it replaced on the schedule, veteran Castle. Conviction slipped a bit in subsequent airings, hitting a low of 0.6 in 18-49 (L+SD) with its fifth episode last night. That is a tenth higher than the 0.5 ABC’s drama Kings & Prophets logged for its second airing last season before being pulled from the schedule.
