In the creepy season finale Tuesday of ABC’s "The River," the god of all demons spoke to the characters about their fate but the god of all TV shows may be speaking louder today.

The eighth episode of the series, which was shot in Hawaii last fall, drew 3.97 million viewers, the smallest audience of its season, according to Nielsen ratings numbers released by the network. That put it well behind the hour-leading CBS crime drama "NCIS: Los Angeles," which attracted 16.05 million viewers.

Among adults 18-49, the key target audience for advertisers, "The River" drew 1.4 percent of the total viewing audience and 4 percent of those watching TV at the time.

ABC said the show’s fate will likely be revealed in mid-May when it announces its fall season.

"The River" followed the search for missing explorer/TV show host Emmet Cole, who was played by Bruce Greenwood. It was told in the reality show style of "found footage," or what the show said each week was the footage the rescue crew "left behind."

Deep in the Amazon, which was really Oahu’s Kahana and Waimea valleys, the crew encountered black magic, evil spirits and zombies. The whole time they were being filmed by the cameras of a reality show — The GoPro craze meets the "Paranormal Activity."

Before the series premiered, Greenwood said it’s hard to predict how the public will respond to any show, let alone one that pushes the boundaries of television by tapping the horror genre.

"You can never tell but I think we are all pretty content with what we made," Greenwood said in January. "I think we have made something that is pretty interesting. If people don’t respond, I will be surprised. But you can never tell. Is it the right time? Who knows?"