Stars: Debra Messing, Josh Lucas, Laz Alonso, Janina Gavankar
Team: Jeff Rake, Greg Berlanti, Melissa Berman, Aaron Kaplan, Todd Lituchy, McG
Based on the Spanish format Los Misterios De Laura, the procedural with a sharp sense of humor follows a quirky female homicide detective who juggles high stakes crime as well as her ex-husband and a devilish set of twin boys.
NBC is going the distance with Mysteries of Laura.
The network has picked up the freshman drama for a full season, ordering the traditional back-nine episodes and bringing its sum to 22, NBC announced Tuesday.
The remake of the Spanish format from exec producer Greg Berlanti and starring Debra Messing in her latest return to NBC opened to scathing reviews but a healthy 10.4 million total viewers and a 2.1 rating among adults under 50 thanks. NBC sampled the series at 10 p.m. after the strong season finale of America’s Got Talent before the show moved to its new home at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays.
See more Faces of Fall 2014
In its time slot debut, the drama was off 25 percent with 9.9 million total viewers and a 1.5 in the demo. The third week of the series took a hit, sliding 7 percent to fall to 8.9 million and a 1.4. Despite poor reviews, viewers have largely stuck with the drama about a frazzled mother who works as a cop.
Thus far this season, Laura has helped NBC improve its 8 p.m. Wednesday slot by 58 percent year-over-year. Through its first six episodes, the series has collected a 1.8 rating in the demo and 10.4 million total viewers. NBC is touting that Laura is the only new broadcast drama on the Big Four networks this season to maintain its demo haul within 0.2 of a rating point through four broadcasts.
The drama hails from Warner Bros. Television, where Berlanti has an overall deal. The full-season order means both of Berlanti’s fall debuts have been granted 22-episode runs. The CW also picked up DC Comics adaptation The Flash for a full season after it became the network’s most-watched telecast in its history. (He also exec produces The CW hit Arrow.)
So far this fall, only one series has been canceled (ABC comedy Manhattan Love Story). Laura marks NBC’s first full-season pickup of the 2014-15 broadcast period. No decisions had been made for the rest of NBC’s freshman class.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
