NBC pulls ‘Crisis’ and ‘Believe’ from sweeps schedule

The future is not looking bright for “Crisis” or “Believe.” NBC has pulled the series from its schedule on the final Sunday of May sweeps, May 18, and will be replacing the episodes with a “Women of SNL” special.

As previously announced, neither show will air May 11, when the network will premiere the first episode of the two-part miniseries “Rosemary’s Baby.” Both shows will return to their regularly scheduled timeslots on May 25, but their prospects for renewal look increasingly dim.

In “Crisis,” starring Gillian Anderson and Dermot Mulroney, students from an elite Washington, D.C., prep school are taken hostage on a field trip. “Believe,” from executive producers J.J. Abrams and Alfonso Cuaron, centers on a 10-year-old girl with supernatural abilities (Johnny Sequoyah) who goes on the run with a wrongfully convicted death row inmate (Jake McLaughlin).

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Both series have struggled to make an impact on jam-packed Sunday nights. “Believe” started out strong with 10.5 million viewers tuning into the series premiere in March, but its audience has since dwindled to about 4.5 million. “Crisis” debuted to a less robust 6.5 million viewers, and has since dipped to under 4 million.