Despite ending on a note that left room for more, Rescue: HI-Surf has been canceled after one season at Fox. Created and showrun by Matt Kesler, with veteran E.R. producer John Wells among the executive producers, the action drama debuted this past September. The story follows a team of lifeguards on the North Shore of O’ahu, in Hawaii, which is described as the most dangerous stretch of coastline in the world. With a cast featuring Arielle Kebbel, Adam Demos, Robbie Magasiva, Kekoa Kekumano, Alex Aiono, and Zoe Cipres, Rescue: HI-Surf season 2 has been facing uncertainty.
Deadline is now confirming that Rescue HI-Surf has been cancelled by Fox after one season. There are no plans for Warner Bros. Television, which produces the drama, to shop the show elsewhere. The news comes more than a month after the show’s finale, which teased that Will (Demos) would head to Australia. However, the showrunner revealed in interviews that Will would ultimately return and resume his storyline with Emily (Kebbel) if the show got renewed.
Why Fox Cancelled Rescue: HI-Surf
Cost Played A Role
Even though Rescue: HI-Surf debuted to solid ratings, helped by a football lead-in, and garnered 4.7 million viewers, both live and over the course of the same day, it did not become a breakout series in the same way that the Fox medical drama Doc did. That show saw an audience increase of over 600%, based largely on broadcast viewership, not streaming, which paved the way for a speedy renewal.
Rescue: HI-Surf is said to cost $3-4 million per episode, coming in at the higher end of the range.
By the end of its run, the viewership for Rescue: HI-Surf had settled at 1.4 million Live+Same Day viewers. That number improves when streaming viewership, on Hulu, is taken into account. But that wasn’t enough to save it. The freshman series was considered for a renewal, especially because of its ties to veteran producer Wells, who is behind shows like E.R. and recent hit The Pitt, albeit it was relatively costly for a new show. That might have hurt its chances. It’s worth noting, as well, that the Baywatch reboot is struggling to get off the ground at Fox.
Our Take On Rescue: HI-Surf’s Cancellation
It’s A Disappointing Call
Rescue: HI-Surf was filmed in Hawaii, which gave many of the show’s scenes a lived-in and authentic look. It also brought costs up at a time when networks are making moves to bring budgets down across the board. Despite a strong campaign to save the new series and bring attention to it, there unfortunately seemed to be too many different factors working against this one. If nothing else, at least the Emily and Will saga received a definitive answer from the creator.
Source: Deadline
Rescue: HI-Surf
- Release Date
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September 22, 2024
- Network
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FOX
- Directors
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John Wells, Loren Yaconelli, Avi Youabian, Sherwin Shilati, Kevin Berlandi
- Writers
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Carly Woodworth
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Arielle Kebbel
Emily Wright
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