Honestly, it felt like the show was doomed from the moment they put the blue filter on the flash-forwards. If you spent any time watching NBC last year, you likely saw the promos for Grosse Pointe Garden Society. It looked like the perfect cocktail: a little bit of Desperate Housewives sass mixed with a dash of Big Little Lies mystery, all set against the backdrop of Michigan's most exclusive zip codes. But the Grosse Pointe Garden Society ratings tell a story that's a lot less "blossoming success" and a lot more "unfortunate mulch."
The show premiered on February 23, 2025, to a fairly decent crowd of 1.79 million viewers. Not a blockbuster, but for a Sunday night on network TV, it was a solid start. Then the reality of the 2025 landscape set in. By the time May rolled around, that audience had shriveled. On May 16, 2025, the season finale pulled in just 1.27 million viewers. When you’re looking at a 0.15 rating in the key 18-49 demographic, the writing isn't just on the wall; it's carved into the tombstone.
The Numbers Behind the Wilt
Most people look at the raw audience and think, "Hey, a million people is a lot!" In the world of NBC, it’s not. To give you some perspective, Grosse Pointe Garden Society ended up ranking near the bottom of the network's scripted lineup. It was consistently outperformed by shows like Happy’s Place and The Hunting Party.
Total viewership is one thing, but retention is where the show really struggled. It had about 72% retention coming out of its lead-in, Suits LA, which is a fancy way of saying people were actively changing the channel when the garden club showed up.
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- Pilot Episode: 1.79 million viewers (0.17 demo)
- Mid-Season Slump: Dropped as low as 852,000 viewers in late March.
- Finale: 1.27 million viewers (0.15 demo)
It’s kind of wild because the audience that did stay actually liked it. On Rotten Tomatoes, the audience score sat at a healthy 89%. Critics, on the other hand, were lukewarm. They gave it a 62%, with many calling it "predictable" or "clunky." Rachel Labonte over at Screen Rant notably gave it 6 out of 10 stars, praising Melissa Fumero's performance but pointing out a glaring lack of chemistry among the leads.
Why the Grosse Pointe Garden Society Ratings Tanked
So, what went wrong? NBC actually tried to save it by shuffling the time slot. They moved it to Fridays in March, which is historically where shows go to die (the "Friday Night Death Slot"). The network argued that the show was a "streaming hit," claiming the pilot reached 6.6 million viewers once you added in Peacock and DVR playback.
But streaming "reach" doesn't pay the bills for a broadcast network the way live eyeballs do.
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The plot didn't help. The central mystery—who is the dead body "Quiche" and why are these four gardeners burying it?—stretched out over 13 episodes. Fans on Reddit complained that the show was "too much work" because of the constant jumping between the present day and the blue-tinted future.
A Mystery Without a Hook
The reveal of the victim, Keith (played by Ron Yuan), was a bit of a letdown for many. After 11 episodes of build-up, finding out the death was basically a freak accident felt... cheap. You spend a whole season waiting for a cold-blooded murder and you get a "whoopsie." That kind of narrative choice rarely helps a show's longevity.
The cast was definitely talented. You had AnnaSophia Robb, Aja Naomi King, Melissa Fumero, and Ben Rappaport. That's a lot of "TV famous" faces. But even with Jenna Bans (of Good Girls fame) at the helm, the show couldn't quite find its niche. Was it a comedy? A thriller? A satire? It tried to be all three and ended up being "just okay."
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The Cancellation Reality
In June 2025, NBC officially pulled the plug. It was the lowest-rated series to be canceled by the network that year. It’s a shame, really. There was a dedicated garden consultant on set to make sure the horticulture was accurate, but they probably should have spent a little more time on the pacing of the script.
By 2026, the show has mostly faded into the "hidden gems" category on Peacock. It’s the kind of thing you binge in a weekend when you’re sick and then forget about three days later.
If you're looking for actionable ways to navigate the fallout of the show or find something similar, here is what you should do:
- Check out Good Girls or Desperate Housewives: If you liked the "suburban crime" vibe, these are the gold standards.
- Watch the Peacock Extended Cuts: The streaming versions have a few extra scenes that make the "Monaco Under the Stars" gala sequence actually make sense.
- Follow the Cast: Most of the leads have already moved on to new pilots for the 2026-2027 season, with Aja Naomi King reportedly eyeing a new legal drama.
Ultimately, the Grosse Pointe Garden Society ratings proved that even a beautiful garden needs more than just pretty flowers to survive; it needs a solid structure, and this one was just a bit too top-heavy.