Poor ratings did not prevent VH1 from renewing “Hindsight.” They did not prevent FXX from ordering a second season of “Man Seeking Woman.”
Ratings woes did, however, sink MTV’s “Eye Candy.”
In a message posted to her official Twitter Saturday night, series star Victoria Justice confirmed that the low-rated “Eye Candy” will not return for a second season. While she did not explicitly attribute the decision to ratings, it is clear the show’s underwhelming performance was the driving force behind MTV’s decision.
Sources confirm as much.
“I wanted you guys to hear it from me first, that the cast and I received news that Eye Candy will not be returning for season 2,” wrote Justice. “Even though a lot of you are going to feel sad/angry, please know that playing Lindy Sampson, is something that I loved and I will hold dear to my heart.
Complimentary of the cast and crew, the actress previously known for her work on Nickelodeon series “Zoey 101” and “Victorious” added, “I couldn’t have asked for better cast mates to work with either. They are the most down to earth, talented and kind souls that I am so happy to have met.
“Then there’s our show runner [Christian Taylor], who is so awesomely talented and made a show that I am so incredibly proud to be a part of. A very special thank you to Jason Blum and the Blumhouse team, you guys are amazing! Jessica, thanks for all your hard work and dedication to Eye Candy…As for [Casey Deidrick], [Harvey Guillen], [Kiersey Clemons], [Ryan Cooper] & [John Garet Stoker], I love you all and I’m so excited to see what great things you guys will be doing next.”
Justice also offered gratitude to the series’ fans.
When push came to shove, however, the televised broadcasts did not draw enough of those fans.
The first season drew an average of only 591,000 viewers per episode, and only one of its ten episodes cracked the 700,000 mark.
Not widely viewed, “Eye Candy” also failed to resonate in key demographics. The ten first season episodes averaged a 0.25 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic.
The show, meanwhile, averaged a 0.72 in MTV’s hyper-targeted females 12-34 core. Disappointing by network standards, the show’s females 12-34 performance became particularly concerning at the end of the season. The final three “Eye Candy” episodes delivered F12-34 ratings of 0.59, 0.57 and 0.57, respectively.
Such numbers were not outside the performance range for MTV’s fall 2014 launch “Happyland,” which aired in a later (11PM) timeslot and was still considered a poor performer.
It, too, suffered the fate of cancellation.
