Jason O'Mara: Television's Most Cursed Actor

by Julian Spivey
This is Jason O’Mara.

He’s a 43-year old actor from Dublin, Ireland and you, as in all television viewers, hate him.

How do I know you hate him? Because since 2008 Jason O’Mara has starred in four television shows and all four of them have been canceled after just one season because absolutely nobody was watching them.

It all began in 2008 when O’Mara took the lead in the ABC drama “Life on Mars,” a remake of a popular British drama, in which he starred as a police detective who was struck by a car in modern times and regained consciousness in 1973. I never caught the series, but it was fairly critically liked before being canceled due to low ratings.

Not to worry, O’Mara would soon get another leading role in Fox’s 2011 series “Terra Nova,” that was about as big budget as a new network series could be. O’Mara played Jim Shannon in this series, in which he and his family travel back in time 85 million years fleeing the dystopian future of the 22nd century to a new world filled with dinosaurs. It was a mess of a show, but had its moments and could have improved given a second season. People tuned in at first, but quickly surrendered.

That didn’t seem to keep him down. He took a supporting role this time in the 2012 CBS crime drama “Vegas,” as the brother of Dennis Quaid’s Las Vegas sheriff. “Vegas” was the better of the two O’Mara series that I’ve personally seen and certainly deserved to live on, but two things have been proven over the last few years – network audiences hate period dramas (“Vegas” was set in the 1960s) and you all completely loathe Jason O’Mara.

O’Mara went away for a few years, surely disappointed and likely annoyed by your massive hatred of him. Then he appeared in the new USA Network medical drama “Complications” this year as a disillusioned emergency room doctor. The critics were mixed on “Complications” from the start – probably because your hatred for O’Mara has started to seep into the minds of the unbiased.

On Friday, August 28 the USA Network announced that it was cancelling “Complications” after just one season. The whereabouts and condition of Jason O’Mara are currently unknown.

Four series canceled after just one season is more than coincidence. Nobody has that kind of luck. Even USA’s “Mr. Robot,” which features TV show cancer Christian Slater, has been renewed for a second season.

It’s obvious you hate Jason O’Mara. What I can’t seem to figure out is why …

O’Mara might not be the greatest actor in the Hollywood playground, but he’s more than serviceable and entertaining, especially when given the right role. He’s attractive too, which though isn’t an acting must it sure seems to help when it comes to a TV show’s popularity. There’s absolutely nothing about this Irish fellow, whom almost always plays Americans on the small screen, that screams “I deserve the hatred you consistently and constantly heap upon me.”

It just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. But, one thing is sure if you’re a television showrunner and you’re looking to survive past your freshmen season you’d better not sign Jason O’Mara on for your project, no matter how much you like him or how perfect he is for your specific project. Jason O’Mara is cursed and America is tired of never wanting to look at him.

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