"Lights Out" Premiere Bombs; FX Prez Pledges Support For Boxing-Themed Drama

If you are a boxing fan and haven't yet decided to watch the FX network's new show, Lights Out, you'd better get on the couch tonight.

Despite near-universal critical acclaim, and the bonus of a hit movie, The Fighter, raising the sport's profile as of late, the boxing-themed drama fell flat on the canvas in last week's premiere.

The show bombed badly, its debut episode garnering just 1.5 million viewers, less than another series, Terriers, that FX recently cancelled

In the dreaded "show of support" that often is instead the kiss of death, FX president John Landgraf has expressed hope that Lights Out may yet imitate Sons of Anarchy, the network's hit about a gang of bikers which also debuted to less than stellar audience numbers.

"I can't tell you what will happen over the next 12 weeks," Landgraf said during a press tour. "Premieres are very important, but shows also find audiences over time. We'll just have to wait and see."

Meanwhile, in an interesting new interview, Lights Out lead actor Holt McCallany ["Lights" Leary] explains that the show tries to avoid nostalgia, and depicts boxing as the sport is today, warts and all.

"One of the things that I liked is that boxing isn’t where it was 15 years ago or 20 years ago, although by the way, boxing has never been where it was," says McCallany. 

"Whenever you read boxing works they always talk about the golden age, which was 20 years earlier, no matter when you’re reading something. But I liked that boxing is on hard times because I feel ... there’s a metaphor going on here," the actor explains.

"A lot of people have gotten clobbered in the last three years, not just boxers," McCallany continues. 

"Boxing is a sport that’s also going through hard times, that’s being usurped by other sports.  In the fourth episode ... we have Pops and Lights ... sitting in a bar hoping to watch a big welterweight match and all that’s on on all the screens is MMA, and they look like two guys from another generation."

Hopefully, "Lights Out" avoids the fate that the actor's words here unintentionally imply.

 [Lights Out is on Tuesday nights at 10pm on FX]