When "Pan Am" first aired it looked like ABC might have a hit on their hands. The premiere (which cost $10m) was watched by 11 million viewers, the promos all looked (aesthetically at least) very appealing, while the reviews were cautiously positive and also expressed optimism for what the show had the potential to become. It also didn’t hurt that it arrived at the same time as NBC’s “The Playboy Club” – to which it bore a stylistic similarity – and seemed fantastic by comparison. But by the time the penultimate episode of the season aired the viewership had dropped to just over 2.5 million with a 0.7 demo rating, and by that point the writing was on the wall.
However, there may be hope yet for the show, with Deadline reporting that Sony are negotiating with Amazon to bring back the show just a fortnight after it was officially cancelled. Apparently the show has been received far more warmly internationally (though we shouldn’t really be surprised that this of all shows would be able to venture into new territories) and that has got the online behemoth interested. Amazon are looking into producing their own television through its recently launched Amazon Studios, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt to add an established drama – with production values they probably are not yet capable of attaining on their own – to their stable.
As exciting as this may sound for fans of “Pan Am,” it’s probably best not to get too carried away. Although some shows do seem to be looking to online vendors for salvation, it hasn’t always worked out. I’m sure “Terra Nova” fans got their hopes up when Netflix expressed interest in that Fox show, but ultimately nothing came of it. So while this could potentially mean that the likes of Christina Ricci, Karine Vanesse, Michael Mosley, Mike Vogel, Kelly Garner and the lovely Margot Robbie may still have a show to return to next season, we’d probably advise them not to give up on the job hunt quite yet.