Fox’s new crime anthology drama Accused launched behind the Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers NFL recreation on Sunday. The twisty authorized thriller from Howard Gordon stored some 8.4M viewers for the period, setting a scores report for Fox. However numerous them have been left fuming after native Fox stations throughout the nation by accident reduce away within the closing minutes, denying them the decision of the story starring Michael Chiklis.
Based on sources, greater than a dozen markets have been affected, representing not less than 8% of the nation, together with Cleveland, Sacramento, St. Louis, Indianapolis, San Diego, Greensboro, Little Rock, Lexington, Honolulu, Springfield, Ft. Smith, Monroe and Jackson. The Fox associates in these markets are owned by Nexstar, and the glitch seems to be a technical concern in that firm’s feed. The issue could also be even wider unfold, as Nexstar is the biggest Fox affiliate group with stations in 39 markets, protecting 16% of the U.S. We have now reached out to the corporate to inquire if all 39 of its Fox markets have been affected.
The stations reportedly reduce to native industrial at 10:55:45 PM and returned at 10:58:06 PM. The advert break was supposed to begin at 10:58:20, following the sixth and closing act of the episode. As a substitute, it pre-empted 2.5 minutes of motion when key revelations in regards to the case have been revealed, rejoining the episode for the ultimate 14 seconds.
The snafu drew viewers’ ire.
“What occurred to the ending? The present ended throughout a industrial,” one individual vented on-line.
Added one other, “Very disappointing and doubtless is not going to watch anymore episodes. Not impressed.”
A viewer in Sacramento echoed the sentiment. “By no means watch community TV and can by no means return. Thanks for ruining a promising present Fox.”
For many who are nonetheless seeking to discover out what occurred, the episode is presently out there on Hulu and Fox Now. After you watch it in its entirety, you possibly can take a look at Deadline’s Q&A with Gordon, dissecting the premiere of the anthology, the place every episode opens in a courtroom introducing the accused with out understanding their crime or how they ended up on trial earlier than revealing the occasions that lead them there from the defendant’s standpoint.
As we reported earlier immediately, Accused, which garnered 8.4 million viewers and a 2.0 ranking in adults 18-49, grew to become the highest-rated and most-watched debuts throughout broadcast or cable within the final three years (excluding the 2021 Tremendous Bowl lead-in, which helped earn CBS’ The Equalizer greater than 20M viewers).
Rosy Cordero contributed to this report.
