NBC Trims ‘The Player’ Order to Nine Episodes

The freshman drama has been reduced from 13 episodes and will limp off the schedule in its Thursdays at 10 p.m. slot.  Gregory Peters/NBC

The freshman drama has been reduced from 13 episodes and will limp off the schedule in its Thursdays at 10 p.m. slot.

The Player's game is almost over.

NBC has reduced the episode order on the freshman drama from 13 to nine episodes, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The low-rated series from Sony Pictures Television and The Blacklist producers will limp off the schedule in mid-November at the conclusion of its ninth episode. It's unclear what will replace the drama starring Philip Winchester and Wesley Snipes.

The series opened in the prime Thursdays at 10 p.m.. slot following The Blacklist to a 1.2 rating among the all-important adults 18-49 demographic and rose only a fraction to a 1.8 when factoring in three days of delayed viewing.

Thursday's original episode collected less than 4 million total viewers.

The Player becomes the second freshman series to meet its maker. Fox trimmed the order for Minority Report earlier this season, while NBC has reduced the count for two midseason comedies to accommodate scheduling needs.

In terms of pickups, NBC granted a full-season order to Blindspot, while Fox has done the same with Rosewood; ABC picked up a six-episode full-season order to Quantico and granted a back-nine to comedy Dr. Ken

The Player

Lesley Goldberg