MSU alum campaigns via Facebook to save 'Detroit 1-8-7'

ABC crime drama, shot in the Motor City, may not see a second season

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Thefirst season of ABC’s “Detroit 1-8-7” may be over, but the battle fans arewaging to bring back the police drama that is set and filmed in Detroit for asecond season rages on.

People across the metroDetroit area have started Facebook pages, campaigning for the show’s renewal.The ensemble series that stars Michael Imperioli (“The Sopranos”) and JamesMcDaniel (“NYPD Blue”) debuted last September to much, scoring more than 9million viewers. Ratings have since been mediocre, averaging around 5 millionviewers once the hype wore off. The finale, which aired March, had 4.2 millionviewers, according to ABC. The finale aired on a Sunday night, instead of theusual Tuesday evening slot.

I think the obvious answer to the ratings decrease is the change in nightsthat it aired. I think it is as simple as that; I do think we’ll see anincrease in viewership when we see DVR figures,” observed Lindsay Warren, aMichigan State University alumnus who is passionate about “1-8-7.” “Lastly, Idon't think the finale was promoted nearly enough. I saw so much initialpromotion for the the show before the pilot even aired, and then it taperedoff.”

It is unclear what the fate of “1-8-7” is. ABC will not announce its TVschedule for the 2011-12 season until mid-May.

Despite the low ratings for the finale, Warren is not discouraged.

“I definitely think the lower ratings has energized us to try and turn onmore people to the show,” she said.

Warren founded the Facebook page, “Keep ‘Detroit 1-8-7’ on ABC.” More than10,000 people “Like” the page.

“What drew me toit was initially curiosity,” Warren said. “What kept me watching was thecharacters. The characters are very likable — you’re immediately drawn to them.Clich as it sounds, they kept me coming back week after week. You can relateto the characters. You care about the characters. It’s a good quality show.”

Another obstacle “1-8-7” faces is Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposal to cap theMichigan film tax incentive, which — when established in 2008 — gave filmmakersfilming in Michigan a tax rebate of approximately 40 percent.

“I think that if Snyder eliminates thefilm tax incentives, not only will the entire industry die, but ‘Detroit 1-8-7’will be forced to also film elsewhere (if it’s picked up for a second season),”Warren said. “This truly is a shame, as the city is definitely one of thecharacters of the show now.”

In interviews, Imperioli and McDaniel haveexpressed hopes of returning for a second season. So has Erin Cummings, whoplays medical examiner, Dr. Abby Ward. Cummings maintains residences in Chicagoand Royal Oak, “with the high hopes that ‘Detroit 1-8-7’ is brought back for asecond season,” she said.

Cummings also founded the charity Mittens for Detroit, which donated between8,000-10,000 pairs of gloves and mittens to Detroit residents. Cummings planson maintaining her connections to the Motor City, even if “1-8-7” doesn’treturn for a second season.

“I noticed inDetroit that people are proud of this city and they have a lot to be proud of,”Cummings said. “Detroit has an incredibly rich history in this country and is acity that has been beaten up.

“But I see thatfighting spirit everyday when I talk to citizens who are either old enough toremember when Detroit was great or people who heard stories about that time andthey really want to make it so again. There’s something so infectious aboutthat ‘let’s pick ourselves back up’ spirit. I think it needs to be encouraged.”

Fans can click on abc.go.com/site/contact-usin support of “1-8-7,” directing their concerns to Paul Lee, president of ABCEntertainment.

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