I think Kudos are good at doing things which capture the Zeitgeist, such as Spooks which came along in a post 9/11 TV landscape, but which also worked as an ensemble drama. Hunted feels a bit too 'left field' and Melissa George doesn't quite have the star pulling power needed for such a show.

yes despite the awesome promo, Hunted has turned out to be a disappointment, and Kudos list of hits and misses, gets worse the closer you get to now. I blame Shine and the Murdoch influence

3.44m for The Chase, is that yet another high? I can't keep up. Terrific rating anyhow.

The way in which it's pulled well clear of Pointless has been most impressive.

Wow, The chase is doing really well. I wonder if it could be pushing 4m in the run up to christmas. I believe Pointless got to that figure last year didn't it?

Ironic really given she is one of the few soapstars to not only carry on successfully afterwards, but actually continuously land big roles in Hollywood films - and usually be very good in each one. See Triangle for a prime example.

Which tells me she's not the problem at all - it's clearly the show itself. I stuck with one episode and was vaguely intrigued but it's safe to say no one was good in it. The script, direction, everything, don't help any of the actors one jot. I wouldn't put any blame on Melissa

She's not a name here though. She might have done well in other things in other countries but to the majority of the British public they don't have a clue who she is. The whole show doesn't have a name to help sell the show.

Agreed, and obviously that would help, but if a show is good enough it shouldn't matter too much. My main point was that even though she appears "bad" in this, so does everyone else. And for me it's at odds with all her other performances. Only the very best could ever turn in a half credible performance in a show like this.

Eternal Flaw for ITV is living proof of that, Kudos are a two hit wonder outfit(Hustle as well), the BBC are not getting value for their money with them now.

Hunted promised so much but the script is lousy and Ms George is way to obscure to play the lead, Jennifer Garner would have been a better choice as she unlike George is talented.

And can i say a few things about the toddler apprentice, it got the rating it deserved, horrid brats and a vile sugar, even WR was more engaging than this tripe

Of course the quality is paramount but a big name or two in the cast certainly helps when it comes to people giving the show a go to start with or sticking with it longer as their a fan of the lead actor's previous work.

I can't really comment on the quality, I watched the first episode and thought it was decent enough but have yet to catch up with the rest maybe that's saying something.


Both Life on Mars and Hustle were created by Tony Jordan too.

Death in Paradise and The Hour are both back for second runs. The UK Law & Order remake has been successful too.

I'm sure there are others.

I never knew those were Kudos, three good productions yet Kudos are misfiring with new commissions.

And thats why they were successful, Hunted is the brainchild of Frank Spotnitz yet there is nothing redeeming about the sad sorry mess, from X-Files to Hunted is a hell of a comedown.

Kudos has very little to do with Death in Paradise. It is made by Tony Jordan's production company Red Planet Pictures.

RE Law and Order UK Score points out.................
Given all these flops, it's no wonder that their next project is a rip off of 'the Killing'.

I thought it was 'The Bridge'?

What did the Removal Men get on Wednesday. This has been a hit for Channel5 for previous episodes

And Ashes To Ashes was less successful than LOM without him.

They should stick to projects with them he's involved in.

No - Hustle was created by Tony Jordan, but Life On Mars was co-created by Jordan, Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah ... the latter two going on, under the banner of their company Monastic Productions, to create Bonekickers (coproduced with Mammoth Screen), Case Histories (with Ruby Films) and Eternal Law (with Kudos).

Prior to Hunted, Spotnitz was showrunner on Sky1's Strikeback series - which, rumour has it, did not go that well behind the scenes. Interesting that both that show and Hunted are co-produced with Cinemax ...

Sorry, but I'd say that the drama hit of the year - Call The Midwife - just proves that you don't need any names in a new series for it to make a splash. The two 'names' in that show (Pam Ferris and Miranda Hart) either had supporting roles or didn't even appear in the pilot episode.

Hunted's problem is that it has neither heart, nor wit. There are no characters for the audience to care about, and the plot is so labyrinthine that it's difficult to invest in it. Contrast that with Homeland, which gives its characters depth as well as maintaining all the elements of a thriller.

I've seen every episode of Hunted so far (although I'm not sure why ... ) and I'd say there's nothing wrong with the cast - it's the story-telling that's flawed. I'd say both the BBC and Kudos were wowed by Spotnitz's credentials and thought they'd automatically have a hit on their hands ... and have now got their fingers burned.

I have to add that it is very tricky to pull off a co-production without audiences noticing - and while the action sequences in Hunted may be impressive (if derivative of Buffy at times ...), the tone of the whole show is weird - it feels neither British nor American. I don't think the BBC necessarily helped matters by promoting it using Spooks' name - as anyone tuning in would have found a very different show.

It is. Using the Channel Tunnel. For Sky Atlantic ...

It's pretty obvious from them that Tony Jordan was the main person behind LOM's success.

I think Jenny Agutter would regard herself as ''a name'' and probably Cliff Parisi, not to mention a certain Ms Redgrave doing the voice-over.

XFactor USA got its worst ever rating yesterday with only a 2.3 demo between 8-10pm. It got thrashed by ABC CMAs [3.7] & CBS comedies, as well as being only the 6th highest rated show yesterday. XF rating was over 30% worse than last year and less than half the ratings American Idol and Voice US get.

Next Thursday XFUS faces The Voice and will only be shown for one hour between 8-9pm so could rate even worse than yesterday!

Pleasing retention for Hatfields and McCoys last night. 1.14m (inc. +1) tuned in, down only 11% on the two hour premiere last week and more than watched this week's new episodes of Body of Proof and Dallas.

This miniseries was probably acquired with kudos in mind more than ratings but if it can stay the right side of the million mark, then it could be a winner in both respects.

OK, so I forgot Jenny Agutter! But she was a supporting character, too. And I hardly think the voiceover counts ... that's like saying people watched Merlin to hear John Hurt as the voice of the dragon ...

But I stand by my original point: the central character and her two colleagues/friends were not names. At all. And they were the focal point of the pilot.

I don't think anyone watched Call The Midwife for any of the 'name' actors that were in it. It had a strong premise with a clear central character on a journey that the audience could easily identify with.

Hunted has a central character on a mission - but that mission is so amorphous that there's very little to latch onto. Add a fictional organisation with secret paymasters, a murky link with an old MI6 case, a criminal businessman with a son he hates yet houses and an endless game of 'Who's the mole?' and you don't really have mainstream viewer-friendly television.