WINNIPEG — After two seasons, the Global primetime soap Falcon Beach has been axed following back-to-back blows from its Canadian and U.S. broadcasters.

‘Global Television told us the show was not reaching enough people in the 18 to 49 demographic, and after discussing our options, they agreed to finance a third season but at a significantly reduced contribution if we could find a co-broadcaster,’ explains producer Kim Todd of Winnipeg’s Original Pictures. ‘Our international distributor was very keen for us to do another season, and we felt it would be possible to find another Canadian broadcast partner.’

While Todd and Toronto coproducer Insight Productions shopped the series around to other Canadian casters, late last week American cable channel ABC Family dropped the second bomb, indicating it would not renew for a third season.

‘They said the series was very strong with teen audiences in the 12 to 17 age group, but right now they are looking for shows that appeal to a 12 to 49 demographic, Todd tells Playback Daily. ‘Falcon Beach wasn’t pulling in enough viewers in the upper age group.’

Todd doesn’t know if the gap in the show’s Canadian financing affected ABC Family’s decision to pull the plug. ‘It may have, I don’t know. They were aware of the issue. It certainly wouldn’t have helped,’ she says. Shot in and around Winnipeg, Falcon Beach follows the lives of young people at a fictional lakeside resort town.

The first season — which was shuffled around three different timeslots — did not perform well on Global, averaging only 250,000 viewers by the end of its 13-episode run. Global gave the series a second chance and moved it to Friday nights at 8 p.m. for its second season, which debuted in January. Season one is currently airing on YTV, where Todd says it is a top 10 show for the specialty channel. In the international marketplace, Falcon Beach has been a success for international distributor FreemantelMedia, which has sold the series into 115 territories, including the U.K., Australia and France.