Entertainment
NBC Cancelled This Expensive Crime Series 23 Years Ago, but It’s Found New Life on Streaming
While impressive new shows are coming out all the time, many series that have already completed their run are impossible to beat. Fortunately, in the age of binge-watching, streaming services allow subscribers to access and fall in love with shows long after their conclusion. This enables such shows to remain relevant and, in some cases, gain an entirely new audience. The phenomenon can be seen in the reemergence of series like Gilmore Girls, Suits, and, more recently, Las Vegas has joined this group. The NBC series may be 23 years old, but even after all that time, it is a popular purchase on the Apple Store, proving that this five-season show has a lot to offer.
The comedy-drama is NBC’s most ambitious story, as seen by the massive cost of the pilot alone. Premiering in 2003, Las Vegas explores the staff of a fictional casino in the famed city. The series initially met strong viewership, but that gradually declined throughout its run. However, Las Vegas has received a second chance through streaming, opening itself up to a new audience who can enjoy all the shocks and drama of the series despite the decades since its release.
What Is ‘Las Vegas’ About?
There are many shows about a workplace, but Las Vegas is unique because its setting offers a rare level of drama. The series follows the security team of the Montecito Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. As you would guess, the glamorous background of Sin City makes for plenty of stories, as the characters deal with everything from power outages to rival casinos to bomb threats. While this concept has potential on its own, the characters and the constant drama in their lives make it that much better. Las Vegas primarily follows the head of security and surveillance, Ed Deline (James Caan), and his protégé, Danny McCoy (Josh Duhamel). As the former director of counterintelligence for the CIA, Ed can be strict, but he’s also a father figure to his employees, particularly Danny, who has his own past as a U.S. Marine. With exciting character backstories and pasts that always seem to resurface, Las Vegas creates an endearing cast.
Part of what makes Las Vegas such a memorable series is the constant drama between the characters. Danny is often the center of this as he develops an on-and-off romance with his coworker and childhood friend, Mary (Nikki Cox), and also a similar dynamic with Delinda (Molly Sims), Ed’s daughter. These relationships add plenty of drama to the already fast-paced story, but that isn’t the only source of tension. Throughout its run, Las Vegas takes several shocking twists, ranging from the hotel changing owners to murder cases. Though it occasionally ventures into soap opera-like territory, Las Vegas‘ exciting story and lovable characters make for the perfect guilty pleasure watch.
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NBC Took a Risk on ‘Las Vegas’
Its five-season run and recent streaming success prove that Las Vegas was a good idea, but the series was a risky move for NBC. The pilot was an expensive endeavor, costing the network five million dollars for just one episode. With the advent of streaming, TV series have become more costly, but at the time, this expense made Las Vegas NBC’s priciest pilot (though it has since been dethroned). Ultimately, that risk paid off, delivering an exciting show, until it was canceled rather abruptly. Though declining ratings, high production costs, cast departures, and the 2008 Writers’ Strike ended the series too soon, Las Vegas is still worth watching, as many are discovering.
Las Vegas is available to purchase on Apple TV, and it is gaining attention there, and rightfully so. With its lovable characters, shocking twists, and constant drama, the 2003 series is a perfect binge-watch. There is no show quite like Las Vegas, and that’s why it has stood the test of time, remaining relevant 23 years later.
Las Vegas is available to buy on Apple TV in the U.S.
- Release Date
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2003 – 2008-00-00
- Showrunner
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Gary Scott Thompson
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