Two Atlanta TV cancellations: "Spartan Team Challenge" and "Hap & Leonard"

ajc.com

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

Posted Wednesday, May 16, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog

While it's fun to announce new shows coming to Atlanta, the ebb and flow of TV production means departures are inevitable. Here are two more:

NBC's "Spartan Team Challenge," which was shot in metro Atlanta for two seasons, is not coming back, a spokesman confirmed to me Tuesday. The obstacle course-based show couldn't quite capture the audience that "American Ninja Warrior" built on the network though its Live + 7 Nielsen numbers on the surface didn't look that bad: 4.5 million in 2017 vs. 4.2 million in 2016.

 SPARTAN: ULTIMATE TEAM CHALLENGE -- "Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge Premiere" Episode 202 -- Pictured: Robert Killian Jr. of team "Commanding Officers" -- (Photo by: Mark Hill/NBC)

Credit: Rodney Ho

icon to expand image

Credit: Rodney Ho

Sundance's "Hap & Leonard" wrapped after three seasons. The past two seasons were shot in metro Atlanta. The show averaged 340,000 viewers in 2017 based on Live + 7 numbers, the 50th most popular prime time show shot in Atlanta out of 54 measured. The novelist Joe R. Lansdale - whose books the show was based on - did note on social media that it was the most popular show on Sundance. But it's all relative. Sundance doesn't generate a lot of ratings in general.

http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/hap-and-leonard-canceled-sundance-tv-1202811490/