The FX drama Damages will be moving to DIRECTV, saving the popular series from cancellation for at least two more years.
The series which has received critical acclaim but low ratings was set to ride off into the sunset as FX was not going to commit to any further production costs. Sony Production however shopped the show around and DIRECTV bit, meaning new episodes of Damages will hit the airwaves sometime in 2011. DIRECTV also picked up the rights to air repeats of seasons 1 through 3 of the drama on its in house network, The 101.
DIRECTV struck a similar deal two years ago with NBC, securing the right to air first run episodes of Friday Night Lights. The 101 Network has aired these in the fall, with NBC then airing episodes of the popular drama in the spring. With Damages however, all episodes will be exclusively aired on DIRECTV. The FX drama picked up five Emmy nominations in season three and has garnered 19 Emmy nominations total in three years.
Damages stars Glenn Close and Rose Byrne, and attracted a loyal but small audience. While the American audience was lacking, overseas audiences have received the drama well, and producer Sony was intent on making more episodes for this reason. For DIRECTV, it represents another way to build subscriptions as loyal fans may make the move over to satellite TV once they realize Damages will not be on cable any more.
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