Rescue HI-Surf Cancellation Explained: 'We Went All-In,' Says Fox Exec, But It 'Didn't Catch On Like We Had Hoped'

It was still waters on the viewership front, and not the expense of filming on location in Hawai'i, that caused Rescue HI-Surf to wipeout after just one season.

Season 1 of Rescue HI-Surf averaged 2.8 million total viewers (with delayed playback), ranking No. 4 out of the seven dramas Fox aired this TV season (besting Accused, Alert: MPU and The Cleaning Lady). The island drama delivered 65% audience retention out of lead-in Lone Star, and was this season's 10th-most watched new broadcast drama (out of 12).

"We went all in on two shows last season — HI-Surf and [the freshman hit] Doc," Michael Thorn, President of Fox Television Network and Fox Entertainment told reporters on Sunday evening, "and we're so proud of the success of Doc.

"Unfortunately, HI-Surf just didn't catch on like we had hoped," he explained.

Added Fox Entertainment CEO Rob Wade, "It certainly wasn't the locale or the budget" that factored into HI-Surf's one-and-done fate. "It just didn't quite grab the audience."

"We love our partnership with John Wells and Warner Brothers [Television], and hope to do more with John and are doing more with Warner Brothers," Thorn made clear, "but [Rescue HI-Surf] just didn't resonate with our audience the way we needed to be able to return it."