“Lucky 13” Not Returning For A Second Season
Earlier this summer, Disney released a brand new primetime game show called “Lucky 13” on ABC, Hulu and Hulu On Disney+, which is co-hosted by Shaquille O’Neal and Gina Rodriguez.
“Lucky 13” is a high-stakes primetime game show that’ll have viewers on the edge of their seats while shouting answers at their screens. From the creative who introduced the world to “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,” “Lucky 13” tests contestants’ knowledge with 13 true-or-false trivia questions but with a cunning twist: Just how well do they know what they know … and, just as importantly, how well do they know what they don’t know? If they can accurately predict how successfully they’ve answered 13 questions, they could take home a $1 million cash jackpot.
While “Lucky 13” was one of the most-watched shows on ABC this summer, pulling in 2.7 million subscribers, it’s been revealed by Deadline that the show won’t be returning for a second season.
Unlike most shows, “Lucky 13” is produced by Studio 1 and pre-funded by them in return for a share of ABC’s advertising and product placement sales on the show. But its ad revenue fell short of projections, resulting in ABC deciding not to move forward on more seasons.
Studio 1 CEO Adrian Woolfe has said they are now restructuring its business to protect the “Lucky 13″ brand.
“We are in the process of taking proactive protective steps to restructure the Studio 1 business and to unlock and protect the value of the now-proven Lucky 13 IP. Rather than it being a direct commission, the unique commercial model on which the debut series was launched in the U.S. was underpinned by advertising revenues which given well-publicised market conditions regrettably, but unavoidably, fell acutely short of forecasts.”
“Lucky 13” was created by Adrian Woolfe. Mark Wells and Glenn Coomber are executive producers together with Kevin Bacon, Aaron Stone, Alastair Burlingham, Gary Raskin, David Schiff, Scott Henry and GW Wright. Shaquille O’Neal’s Jersey Legends Productions is producing with O’Neal, Colin Smeeton and Michael Parris serving as executive producers. I Can & I Will Productions is co-producer with Gina Rodriguez serving as executive producer.
You can still find “Lucky 13” on Hulu and Hulu On Disney+, but with the cancellation, they might not stay there too much longer, as Disney does tend to remove cancelled shows.
Roger’s Take: We are in a weird place where linear channels viewership continues to decline year on year, and it’s unclear if game shows work in the same way on streaming services. While “Lucky 13” was funded in a unique way, Disney didn’t spend much money on it up front, and ultimately, the show didn’t make them enough money to warrant continuing it. It doesn’t necessarily mean that “Lucky 13” can’t be picked up by another network or streaming service, but it won’t be on any of Disney’s.
What do you think of Disney’s decision over “Lucky 13”? Let me know on social media!
Roger Palmer
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