Why CBS All Access canceled filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘One Dollar’
PASADENA, Calif. — In 2018, CBS All Access premiered the filmed-in-Pittsburgh original drama series “One Dollar” and then canceled the show a few months later.
CBS All Access executive vice president of original content Julie McNamara said executives were happy with the creative content of “One Dollar,” which was set in a fictional steel town outside Pittsburgh and followed a multitude of characters as a $1 bill was passed from one to another.
“I’m not from that area, but I have a lot of family in Youngstown, Ohio, and some of the experiences were really similar in terms of what has happened in the region over time, and we were very proud of feeling like the team, and in particular [showrunner] Craig Zobel, depicted the world very authentically without condescension, without judgment, just as an authentic universe of characters,” Ms. McNamara said Wednesday following a CBS All Access press conference during the Television Critics Association winter press tour.
Because CBS All Access is relatively new when it comes to original series — especially shows that are not spinoffs — Ms. McNamara said viewership expectations “are not super huge out of the gate,” but because the first season of “One Dollar” told one complete story, that factored into the decision not to continue.
“It was a seasonal mystery that kind of wrapped up at the end of that season,” she said. “You look at a lot of things, does it complement other stuff you’re ordering and what seems to be popping with the audience, with you as a service. How sticky the fans are, do they go on the whole ride or do they stop at some point during it. We want to build a nice library of original shows, and we also have to be cognizant with our expectations as a new service, what are the things that are breaking through the clutter in some way?”
“One Dollar” decidedly failed on that last count, generating little press coverage in advance of its premiere and even less buzz throughout its run.
“Do we feel going forward, beginning a whole new mystery in this format, that we had the ability to pop, and we made the decision it was a nice 10-episode run,” Ms. McNamara said.
The network did hear pitches from producers for season two.
“We sort of loosely talked about, do we stay in the same place and find another way to utilize the device of the dollar [being passed], or do we go somewhere else and take one character somewhere else?” she said. “We did have some preliminary conversations about that just so we could take that into account as we were making the decision [on whether to keep or cancel the show].”