Weeks ago, we learned that the ratings for Grand Hotel – an adaptation of Gran Hotel, Spain’s Downton Abbey-esque series – weren’t too good. But back then (August), ABC’s entertainment president Karey Burke wanted to remain optimistic. “We’re going to wait until the end of its run,” she said at the time. “It’s a show we like a lot. It’s a show that I wish the ratings were a bit stronger but we’ll make that decision after its run.” Flash forward to this month, and the network has announced that the show will not be renewed for a second season.
Originally meant to premiere midseason, the Eva Longoria-produced soap opera was released in the middle of summer. The show followed the goings-on of the last “family-owned hotel in Miami,” the Riviera Grand. Owner Santiago Mendoza (played by Demian Bichir) had plans to sell the hotel but butted heads with his children, who are already against Santiago’s new wife (Rosalyn Sanchez). Alongside their issues were various plot points involving the Riviera Grand’s staff.
The show was critically well-received, a fun scripted series during a period dominated by reality programming. Its season premiere pulled in decent ratings from the coveted 18-49 demographic, but almost immediately, its viewership dropped nearly 15% between the first and second episodes. It regularly lost viewers, save for two weeks in July. At the end of July, it saw its biggest increase at nearly 8% before free-falling again through August.
ABC must have seen the series’ failure to retain old viewers and attract new ones as reason enough to cancel the show. And while we’re disappointed that it means one less series starring Latinos, we know that Longoria will be keeping busy with more content reflective of our communities. One of her next projects is her feature directorial debut, Flamin’ Hot, a movie about Richard Montañez, the creator of the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.