Some interesting news comes in via Deadline who reports that NBC has halted production on the inaugural season of “Constantine,” based on the “Hellblazer” comic book.
The freshman season of NBC drama will consist of solely 13 episodes as the cast and crew of the series were informed on Friday that the series will halt production after completing production on the initial 13-episode order.
“Constantine” will remain in its 10 PM Friday time slot for the remainder of its run – and has yet to be canceled. In fact, the site reports that “Constantine” remains in contention for a second-season renewal.
NBC had to make a decision whether to keep “Constantine” in continuous production with little ratings information. While the series began production on a standard fall premiere production schedule, its launch was delayed until late October when NBC’s Friday genre block usually debuts, so the network had to make a call whether to order additional episodes after only four episodes had aired vs. at least seven, which is the norm for freshman series.
The negative to this story is that it’s unclear how the production stoppage with affect the season finale. Did they complete the story arc they had planned or will fans be left in the dark with a weak cliffhanger? The fact that it was originally a 13-episode order bodes well for the finale.
