Good news for the people of fictional Chester’s Mill is bad news for fans of “Under the Dome.”
CBS announced Tuesday it is bringing an end to the summer series after three seasons.
The science-fiction drama, based on Stephen King’s 2009 novel, will conclude in a Sept. 10 finale, in which the impenetrable bubble that suddenly fell on the small town will finally be lifted and the mysteries of its origins revealed — but not before one final, fatal showdown for the residents of Chester’s Mill.
“Under the Dome” was a ratings smash when it premiered in 2013, attracting an average same-day audience of 11 million viewers and millions more via DVR. CBS also struck a groundbreaking deal with Amazon that made episodes of the series available to stream four days after their broadcast debut, allowing the network to offset some of the considerable production cost.
The series is executive produced by King, who also wrote the second-season premiere, and Steven Spielberg. “ER” writer Neal Baer serves as showrunner and executive producer.
The initial success of “Under the Dome,” which aired 13 episodes each season, encouraged CBS to try its hand at other shorter-run genre series during the summer, such as the Halle Berry vehicle “Extant” and the James Patterson adaptation “Zoo.”
“‘Dome’s’ event storytelling and multi-platform business model paved the way for more original summer programming,” CBS Entertainment Chair Nina Tassler said in a statement. “We’re excited to present the final chapter in Chester’s Mill as the story comes full circle, with the dome coming down as dramatically as it went up.”
But ratings for “Under the Dome” have ebbed considerably since its early days: The third-season premiere in June brought in just 6.25 million same-day viewers, and later episodes have dipped below the 5 million mark.
— Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times
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