Its no secret that Dollhouse hasn't been doing well so far in its sophomore season. The first couple of weeks of the show saw some of the lowest numbers for the series to date. But fans can rest a little easy, as Fox has announced that they WILL air all 13 episodes currently ordered for season 2. However, just when they'll air them might be the question fans need to be asking right now.
Fox's scheduling chief Preston Beckman told The Hollywood Reporter,
"We're going to run all the episodes. We're not saying we're happy with those numbers, or accept them, but we don't have to overreact. During [November] sweeps we might have to jack up the numbers a little [with other programming], but we plan on completing the order for this show."
The key quote here is that they may have to jack up those numbers a little during sweeps, with other programming. This means that most likely Dollhouse will be taking a short break sometime during November, and possibly longer. Dollhouse is already taking a break this coming Friday, due to LA Angels vs NY Yankees baseball game being broadcast. So fans of the show should expect quite a few interruptions in the coming weeks and months for their show. Fox also stated that the decision to order more episodes of Dollhouse wouldn't come until after it had finished it's current run of 13 episodes. So if it does end after 13 episodes, will fans get closure or be left hanging?
Joss Whedon himself was also quoted by The Hollywood Reporter as saying,
"We'll definitely have closure, but will leave some doors open," said Whedon, who's currently shooting the eighth episode. "When we got our first numbers, which were bad, the first thing [Fox president of entertainment] Kevin Reilly said was, 'You'll have all 13,' which was great. They're not going to pull the rug out from under us."
However, its not all bad news for Dollhouse, and according to Beckman the situation hasn't been all that much of a shock to them. Last week Dollhouse saw an increase of 11% in their ratings, and it was also just announced that the second season premiere, Vows, got a huge 50% DVR Boost.
"It's one of the reasons that we brought it back; we knew it was DVR friendly," Beckman said. "We expected to see this, and hopefully we'll see [the overnight ratings] increase from week to week … with some shows, you have to look at the bigger picture."
Definitely a wise decision on Fox's part. Although Dollhouse may have a small fanbase, they are dedicated and rabid fans that would definitely paint Fox as the bad guy. Not to mention, The Sarah Connor Chronicles was canceled to make room to keep Dollhouse. Which has really created a no-win situation for Fox and Beckman.
"If you cancel it, you're an asshole; if you renew it and then don't put it back on, you're an asshole," Beckman said humorously. "I'm still paying for 'Terminator.' 'Dollhouse' has a small rabid fan base that in the world of social media seems bigger than it is. We gave them another season knowing full well we were going to burn in hell if we pulled it."
Source: THR Live Feed
