Broadcaster ITV has cancelled Graham Norton's reality television show The Neighbourhood after just one series following poor viewer ratings and critical reviews.
Executives at the commercial broadcaster admitted they will not produce a similar show again and will instead focus on established live reality formats such as Love Island and Big Brother.
Joe Mace, the entertainment commissioning editor at ITV, revealed the decision at the Edinburgh TV Festival, stating that the broadcaster had learned lessons from the programme, which aired earlier this year. Mace described the show as an experiment that did not work as planned and confirmed that executives intend to leave it in the past.
According to The Sun, Mace said: "We talk about taking risks and then we like to put it into action. As a format, people loved the idea of creating a neighbourhood where you were judging people and how they would behave as families... It had a lot of really good ITV ingredients."
He added: "One of the lessons we've learned from that is that people come to ITV for fast turnaround, live reality TV first and foremost. They've been served the best in those shows in Love Island and Big Brother and we should stick to that probably."
"There's a lot of great post-produced reality TV out there, and that's perhaps not the lane ITV should be in," Mace said. "That's our ambition now."
An ITV spokeswoman confirmed the cancellation, saying: "We're really proud of The Neighbourhood - it was big, bold and ambitious - and we'd like to thank everyone in front of and behind the camera for all of their hard work and dedication in launching the series. Unfortunately, it won't be returning for a new series currently."
Ratings slump and schedule shift
The show had been launched with a glossy presentation and a large marketing budget, intended as a high-profile primetime vehicle to establish Norton on ITV and compete with the BBC's hit reality series The Traitors.
However, poor audience reception prompted ITV to make an unexpected schedule change mid-series. The channel moved the remaining episodes from its 9pm primetime slot to a 10.45pm slot after the evening news on ITV1, while uploading the full series directly to its streaming service, ITVX.
Viewing figures dropped sharply after the premiere. While the launch episode attracted 1.2 million viewers, the audience fell to 500,000 by the third episode.
The series marked Norton's first venture into reality television. In the show, real-life households competed in games for a cash prize of £250,000 awarded to the most popular family. ITV debuted the programme in the middle of the final episode of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! to capture the flagship show's audience.
Replacement shows and online viewing
An ITV spokesman stated: "The full box set of The Neighbourhood is now available to stream on ITVX. Additionally, the show will continue to air in an evening slot on ITV." Repeats of Long Lost Family and Beat The Chasers were scheduled to replace the show in the 9pm slot on Thursday and Friday respectively.
Industry insiders noted that the series performed better on ITV's digital streaming platform ITVX than on linear terrestrial television.
Background and presenter reaction
The ratings struggle represents a rare setback for Norton, an Irish television presenter who hosts the long-running flagship chat show The Graham Norton Show on BBC One. Speaking prior to the premiere, Norton admitted he had initially attended the pitch meeting intending to turn down the hosting role, but changed his mind because he thought the concept was "so good I have to say yes".
Viewers expressed harsh criticism on social media platforms, describing the programme as "drivel TV" and "the biggest load of rubbish", matching negative reviews from television critics.
The series was filmed at Darwin Lake Holiday Park in Matlock, Derbyshire, supported by a large promotional budget. Production company Lifted Entertainment had aimed to match the success of rival competition formats. Ed Daggett, development executive at Lifted Entertainment, said: "The Traitors has been absolutely phenomenal in terms of the way it's attracted reality fans and people who may not normally come to reality shows. Of course, we would want to come close to that sort of success."
