Heavy Hallmark Channel has "quietly decided" to cancel a new series
After one season, Hallmark Channel‘s modern western series “Ride” is riding off into the sunset. An unnamed network executive confirmed to Vulture on November 16, 2023, that Hallmark has “quietly decided not to renew” the show.
As news spreads about the cancellation, fans and critics of the shows have been weighing in on social media.
Here’s what you need to know:
Fans Divided Over Cancellation of Hallmark’s “Ride”
Hallmark“Ride” stars (from l to r) Tyler Jacob Moore, Beau Mirchoff, Tiera Skovbye, Jake Foy and Sara Garcia attend the series premiere in March 2023
“Ride,” which premiered on March 25, was a 10-episode drama about the McMurrays, a fictional family of Colorado ranchers, with Nancy Travis playing the family’s matriarch. The final episode ended on a cliffhanger on May 28.
News about the end of “Ride” has taken some fans by surprise, especially since there had been hints last spring that it would likely return. Though showrunner Sherri Cooper-Landsman could only work on “Ride” during its first season due to scheduling conflicts, she intimated that a second season was likely via a March 2023 interview with Deadline.
“I’m excited to watch it go on,” she said at the time. “It’s (co-showrunners Rebecca Boss and Chris Masi’s) world and these actors are amazing. They all know what the show is now.”
Hallmark fans seem divided over the news, reacting online to the cancellation.
“I watched it hoping it would be good but it wasn’t,” one person wrote in a Reddit chat. “Not surprised it got cancelled.”
Another added, “I always felt that this was just an attempt at a kid friendly Yellowstone”
But a fan of the show wrote in the chat, “Noooooooo!!!!! I loved this series.”
Though the cast has not given any statements about their show’s end, some have acknowledged fans’ comments about it. Actor Tyler Jacob Moore, who played Gus Booker, an oil baron initially interested the McMurray Ranch, liked a tweet from the Hallmarkies Podcast that said, “Sorry to hear Ride news especially @TylerJacobMoore who we hope to keep seeing on Hallmark”
Meanwhile, Hallmark star Marcus Rosner, who played the late champion bull rider Austin McMurray, liked a fan’s tweet that said, “Sorry to hear the news about Ride. Certainly hope @hallmarkchannel continues work with these talented actors in other projects though! Especially @themarcusrosner and @Beau_Mirchoff!”
Hallmark Sees More Promise in ‘The Way Home,’ Now Filming Its Second Season
Getty“The Way Home” co-stars Chyler Leigh, Andie MacDowell and Sadie Laflamme-Snow attend the series’ premiere in January 2023
Ratings for “Ride” were decent, with an average of 0.2 in the 18-49 demographic and 1.3 million viewers per episode, according to TV Series Finale. Though it started off strong, the show struggled to retain its viewers, per USTVDB.
By contrast, Hallmark’s other new series, “The Way Home,” steadily increased viewership during the course of its first season, from January to March. According to USTVDB’s tracking, it achieved its highest ratings of the season in its last episode, with over 1.7 million viewers.
Even before the first season ended, Hallmark announced that the series, starring an ensemble cast including Andie MacDowell, had been renewed for a second season. Filming is already underway and three members of the cast appeared at New York Comic Con in October to promote the series.
Meanwhile, its long-running series “When Calls The Heart” just wrapped filming on its 11th season.
Hallmark’s executive vice president of programming, Lisa Hamilton Daly, told Vulture that series development is still important for the channel to keep growing and attracting younger viewers.
“I think series are sort of the centerpiece of a lot of younger-type viewings,” she said. “So I think for us, that might help us grab some younger eyeballs, keep people excited week-to-week, and introduce new people to the channel.”