Scorpion (TV series)

Last updated

Scorpion
Scorpion intertitle.png
Genre Action [1]
Drama
Created by Nick Santora
Starring
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes93 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
Cinematography Gyula Pados
Ken Glassing
David J. Miller
Fernando Argüelles
Editors
  • Dylan Highsmith
  • Steven Sprung
  • Rosanne Tan
  • Eric Seaburn
  • J.J. Geiger
  • Heather McDougall
  • Peter Forslund
  • Anthony Miller
  • Christopher Petrus
Running time40–44 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseSeptember 22, 2014 (2014-09-22) 
April 16, 2018 (2018-04-16)

Scorpion (stylized as </SCORPION>) is an American action drama television series created by Nick Santora for CBS. The series stars Elyes Gabel (Walter O'Brien), Katharine McPhee (Paige Dineen), Eddie Kaye Thomas (Tobias Curtis), Jadyn Wong (Happy Quinn), Ari Stidham (Sylvester "Sly" Dodd), and Robert Patrick (Cabe Gallo). Very loosely based on the life of its executive producer and self-proclaimed computer expert Walter O'Brien, [2] the series centers on O'Brien and his friends helping to solve complex global problems and save lives. The series premiered on September 22, 2014. [3] [4] On October 27, 2014, CBS placed a full-season episode order for the first season. [5] In March 2017, CBS renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on September 25, 2017. [6] [7]

Contents

Scorpion received mixed critical reception. On May 12, 2018, CBS cancelled the series after four seasons. [8]

Synopsis

Scorpion is said to be the last line of defense against complex, high-technology threats around the globe. Drawing on a diverse set of skills and experience, such as coding, psychology, and engineering, they can solve these situations. The team tackles a variety of problems, many of which are extremely complicated. While they are frequently called into service by the Department of Homeland Security, they also accept work from private individuals and organizations.

SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedRankAvg. viewership
(in millions)
First airedLast aired
1 22September 22, 2014 (2014-09-22)April 20, 2015 (2015-04-20)1513.63 [9]
2 24September 21, 2015 (2015-09-21)April 25, 2016 (2016-04-25)1712.05 [10]
3 25October 3, 2016 (2016-10-03)May 15, 2017 (2017-05-15)2210.65 [11]
4 22September 25, 2017 (2017-09-25)April 16, 2018 (2018-04-16)438.38 [12]

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Production

Development

According to Walter O'Brien, the idea for the show came from his company Concierge Up when they asked the question, "How do we attract more bright people to contract with our company to work on interesting projects?". They decided to pitch the idea for a 10-season show that would compete with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and "inspire a whole generation to see that 'smart is cool'". [16]

CBS leadership viewed the show as a dramatic variation of another CBS show, The Big Bang Theory  – at that time the nation's most popular TV comedy – which featured a cast of similar brainy-young-nerd characters. CBS Primetime senior executive vice president Kelly Kahl, in a 2014 interview, indicated that CBS had intended the show as "kind of an extension of The Big Bang Theory but in the drama world." [17]

Reception

Ratings

Scorpion premiered on CBS on Monday nights in the fall of 2014, in a 10 pm (Eastern) time slot that had become an underperformer for CBS. [17] To give Scorpion an initial boost in audience for the first few weeks, CBS scheduled it to come on immediately after episodes of The Big Bang Theory, at that time television's most popular comedy. [17] Scorpion became CBS's highest-rated drama series for the advertiser-sought 18- to 49-year-old TV audience demographic. [17] "Live + 7" numbers showed a 4.5 rating in the key demographic, and Nielsen ratings were a 3.7. [17] The results helped CBS's primetime growth-leadership that fall, CBS's Monday night having improved more than any other night, not only for CBS, but also more than any night for any of the "Big 4" networks. [17]

The increase in CBS's own ratings in the Monday 10 pm time slot was sizeable - a 65% total-audience increase over the same period a year earlier, and a 23% boost since that period for the age 18-49 audience. [17] Even after it was detached from The Big Bang Theory, the show continued to rank as the second-most popular new drama on CBS. [17] In the older-focused 25- to 54-year-old audience demographic segment, Scorpion initially averaged a 4.9, the second-highest ranking new show in that audience, improving the network's previous-year performance in that time slot by 29%. (L+7's measurement of 25-54 year olds put Scorpion at 6.0.) [17] Scorpion's initial popularity extended beyond immediate-broadcast audiences, to include delayed-viewing audiences, making Scorpion CBS's most-streamed new show of the season, initially, across multiple platforms. [17]

Viewership and ratings per season of Scorpion
SeasonTimeslot (ET)EpisodesFirst airedLast airedTV seasonViewership
rank
Avg. viewers
(millions)
18–49
rank
Avg. 18–49
rating
DateViewers
(millions)
DateViewers
(millions)
1 Monday 9:00 pm22September 22, 2014 (2014-09-22)13.83 [18] April 20, 2015 (2015-04-20)10.71 [19] 2014–15 1513.63193.1 [20]
2 24September 21, 2015 (2015-09-21)11.09 [21] April 25, 2016 (2016-04-25)8.98 [22] 2015–16 1712.05242.5 [23]
3 Monday 10:00 pm25October 3, 2016 (2016-10-03)8.30 [24] May 15, 2017 (2017-05-15)7.89 [25] 2016–17 2210.65282.0 [26]
4 22September 25, 2017 (2017-09-25)5.75 [27] April 16, 2018 (2018-04-16)5.22 [28] 2017–18 438.38621.5 [29]

Critical response

Scorpion has received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, season one holds a rating of 42% based on 48 reviews, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Typical procedural plot lines and boring characters using a distracting amount of geek-speak make Scorpion a forgettable show without sting." [30] On Metacritic, the show has a score of 48 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [31]

The show premiered on September 22, 2014, earning a 3.2 rating in the 18–49 demographic and 13.83 million total viewers. [32] This improved CBS' Monday 9 p.m. time slot from the previous season by 66% in total viewers and 22% in the 18–49 demographic. It was also Monday's top new series in viewers and key demographics. [33] The number of viewers during the first season across all platforms was 26 million. [34]

Broadcast

Scorpion was picked up in 14 countries, [35] including in the UK by ITV2 for broadcast starting on October 23, 2014. [36] The series premiered in fall on RTÉ2 in Ireland. [37] Australian Network Ten began airing the show on September 28. [38] In New Zealand, Prime began airing the show on October 10. [39] The show aired in Canada on City simultaneously with CBS. [40] The series aired on Universal Channel in Italy on February 17, 2015.

A special 63-minute episode, "Tech, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll", was originally aired as a single episode in season two, but shown in Britain and its overseas territories in two parts. [41]

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