Wednesday 29 June 2016

Person of Interest Season Six - The Fans Need Some Positive News

Fans of the popular crime drama, cyberpunk, thriller series really need to hear some hope regarding Person of Interest's future. Like whether POI has a future beyond the season five finale.

Recently In a TV Guide article; Greg Plageman has been quoted as saying that a Person of Interest reboot is possible. "Never say never" were his exact words. As for Michael Emerson, he reveals that not many characters survive the finale, so another season may not seem possible for the fans and not many fans are keen on a reboot. Jonah Nolan reveals that he would have loved to continue making POI, but that decision was taken away.



Nolan also spoke to IGN after the 100th episode and after the finale and did say the door had been left open, which has given the fandom hope. But, I think the fans are looking for more than hope now. Given that TV Guide is owned by CBS, is it possible we are being told what CBS want us to hear.

Rita Presto, a Person of Interest fan commented on this article and said that hearing phrases like “Never say never” in regards to more Person of Interest on our TV screens is not enough for her. She also went on to say: "I would like to see more positive hope for the fans of this show that got the shaft by CBS" I feel that Rita speaks for many of us in the POI Fandom and yes, we do need to hear something more positive about Person of Interest's future.

The POI Fandom is buzzing with conversations all over Twitter, Facebook, with Person of Interest forums and Person of Interest groups all over the Internet. If Netflix or another network are considering picking up POI, then it's my opinion that they should strike while the iron is hot. Given all the talk about the recent finale and Season 5, it is more likely that a larger audience will tune into a new season of Person of Interest.

Caro Finch, a member of one of the many Person of Interest Facebook discussion groups had this to say:

"Reboot" has bad connotations to me. Usually means the actors and/or characters will be different. POI is Reese, Finch, Shaw, Root, Fusco & of course Bear. As the Machine said.....these are NOT 'interchangeable'. CBS dropped the ball by letting the most intelligent, relevant (yes I used that word) TV show slip through their fingers. There are quite a few "POI wanna-bees" aka Limitless, out there & that pale by comparison with the writing, acting & directing. The story line has consistently been just 1-2 steps ahead of the real world. Example was the Snowden 'reveal'.....another is the rise of Artificial Intelligence (which is what the whole premise of the show is based on) is in the news more & more every day. But CBS would rather stay stuck in its old by the book, same old same old.

POI is one of those few shows that require your complete attention while it is on. And every time you re-watch an episode you'll see something you missed. The quality of POI, top to bottom, back to front & all parts in between, is the best anywhere.

To have such a great show treated the way CBS has treated POI is disgraceful. We've had to wait almost a FULL YEAR! Season 4 finale was May 5, 2015 and the Season 5 premier is May 3, 2016. And now we're going to get 13 eppies in 8 weeks? Really?

Shame on you CBS! Shame on you! You have dissed the fans as much as the show.




Personally, speaking for myself I have a hard time believing anything published on a site that CBS own. CBS are probably playing damage control, so that Person of Interest fans watch the final season live. It is all about advertising dollars for CBS, so anything written on a CBS site is probably only lip service. Many POI fans claimed they will boycott CBS after the finale of Person of Interest goes to air.


Now that Person of Interest has gone, many fans have no reason to watch CBS and a large number of fans who are members of the many Person of Interest Facebook Groups, are choosing not to watch CBS at all. That amounts to many thousands of viewers that CBS have essentially lost.


Person of Interest was the best show on CBS and for mine, the only show worth watching. We all know POI got the axe by CBS for financial reasons, and then Limitless, the show that replaced POI failed too and CBS owned Limitless. Les Moonves confirmed that in Season 4 the network broke even with Person of Interest. Perhaps if CBS had promoted Person of Interest more, we might not be where we are now. I am wondering just how many POI fans ditched CBS when they began screwing around with POI and how many fans boycotted CBS because another show took Person of Interest's time-slot. I have no doubt CBS's actions regarding POI affected the ratings of Limitless.


POI was the best show on TV in the last ten to fifteen years and never had to end like this. POI and the people who produced the show, should never have been treated this way. CBS held off telling the cast, crew and loyal fans that they had every intention of cancelling the show. They also lied to everyone about their decision making process regarding the possible renewal of Person of Interest. Now, I don't know about you, but I hate liars and I rarely forgive them. Many POI fans claim they will never watch a CBS show live again. This amount of people could very well go into the hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions.





Can CBS really afford to lose that amount of viewers and the revenue they bring. I really hope that NBC, ABC, FOX, The Cable Networks and Streaming services can learn a lesson out of this. Person of Interest has a huge fandom all over the world, which amounts to hundreds of millions of people. Netflix or Hulu or even Amazon would stand to gain the most by picking up Person of Interest given the worldwide desire for more seasons of the show.


Netflix has already saved a few shows from the axe and given them a new home as have cable networks. Longmire being one example. The Killing was also picked up by another network and Nashville which was cancelled recently was also given a new home. These shows are nowhere near the quality that Person of Interest is and these shows did not rate nearly as highly as POI.


How these numbers compare for Season 5 is unclear, however in terms of quality, Person of Interest will do very well for any network that picks it up. POI would be a huge asset to any television network or streaming company that want to renew it for a sixth season.


Fans all over the world have joined forces and put together several petitions, one has almost 50,000 signatures and has been doing the rounds for the last year. These fans will not give up until they are told there is absolutely no hope. So come on guys, can someone please give us some real hope that Person of Interest is being considered as a viable pick up for the 2016/17 season or perhaps even a year from now?



And lastly, I urge anyone who has not seen Person of Interest to sign up for Netflix or whoever is streaming POI in your part of the world and watch. The five season box set will be available on July 19 in the US and for those outside the US, try searching for the series on Amazon. We will never see another show quite like Person of Interest and certainly not on network television given the way TV is changing. POI was one of a kind and I will miss it terribly along with millions of other fans.

Please sign the petition to Save Person of Interest if you haven't done so.

Another thing you can do is to mail origami cranes into Netflix. There is more information about this on the petition or you can contact Kaily Russell, who started the petition on Facebook and Twitter.


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Now it is your turn, if you want to have your say about my rant, do so in the comments, or join me on Facebook or Twitter


You can read more TV articles at Grey's Anatomy Addicts and Jel Writes; Freelance Writer 

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