Last week fans were shocked to learn that WGN America canceled its scripted series “Underground,” following its second season.
John Legend who serves as one of the show’s producers vowed to find another network for the show, and many fans automatically thought OWN would be a perfect fit. Unfortunately, shortly after the show’s cancellation, it was announced OWN was one of the networks to pass on the show.
Now Oprah Winfrey is explaining why she decided not to bring the show on her network.
According to Refinery 29, during a press event for her network’s series “Queen Sugar,” Winfrey talked about her decision.
She said, “I can’t afford Underground. It cost twice as much to make as Queen Sugar. As a matter of fact, my dear friend John Legend called me personally and asked me about it, but we’d already been talking about how we could make it work […] it’s like $5 million an episode, so we can’t afford it. It’s not cheap, I think because it’s a period piece.”
She mentioned the shows social media following but talked about it not being a good business move at the moment.
Winfrey continued, “It doesn’t have the numbers that can justify it as a business, for me, at this stage in my business, to spend $5 million an episode.”
Just completed talk with Oprah, Dawn-Lyen Gardner and Kofi Siriboe about OWN and Queen Sugar. Here's why she didn't pick up #UndergroundWGN:
— Soraya Nadia McDonald (@SorayaMcDonald) June 6, 2017
At $5M per episode, Oprah said #UndergroundWGN ratings did not justify cost for OWN right now. It's just too expensive.
— Soraya Nadia McDonald (@SorayaMcDonald) June 6, 2017
Full text of Oprah’s answer about not picking up #UndergroundWGN: pic.twitter.com/bfs5aj0pUR
— Soraya Nadia McDonald (@SorayaMcDonald) June 6, 2017
Roommates, what other networks do you think will be a great fit for “Underground?”
Source: http://www.refinery29.com/2017/06/157839/oprah-own-underground-no-pick-up
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