Ratings
The NBC version of The Weakest Link started off well in the ratings, but quickly began to slip. The producers then decided that having celebrities play the game would boost ratings and so they planned many episodes with celebrities as contestants, along with "theme" episodes in which the contestants were playing for charity. These changes caused even lower ratings and accelerated the show's cancellation.
The syndicated version did well enough in the ratings in its half-season to be renewed for a full second season, which began in September 2002. However, the series' ratings were strongly challenged by the new syndicated version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which debuted at the same time Weakest Link began its second season. Many of the stations that chose to buy the new Millionaire were also carrying Link, which caused those stations to either drop the series or move it to an undesirable late-night time slot. Link's ratings plummeted and the series was canceled following its second season, while Millionaire continues to air.
Read more about this topic: The Weakest Link (U.S. Game Show)