TV Cancellations: 'The Exorcist', 'Lucifer', 'Designated Survivor', 'Quantico', 'Alex, Inc.', 'Great News', 'Taken'
The networks have decided to snap their fingers and make several shows disappear. Designated Survivor, Lucifer, Quantico and The Exorcist have all been cancelled. So have Alex, Inc., Taken, and Great News. Your round-up of the latest TV cancellations is below.
The Exorcist Cancelled
It hasn't been a great week for certain TV shows. Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Last Man on Earth and The Mick have all been cancelled by Fox, and the network apparently isn't done giving some of its shows the axe yet. The Exorcist, a series based on the classic horror film of the same name, has been cancelled by FOX after two seasons. The show has developed a devoted following, but it wasn't enough to save it at Fox. In fact, Variety reports The Exorcist was "Fox's lowest-rated program this year, averaging 1.32 million total viewers and a 0.41 rating in the 18-49 demo." Alfonso Herrera, Ben Daniel, Kurt Egyiawan and John Cho starred on the show, which tracked priests doing battle against demonic forces. Perhaps the most frustrating element of this cancellation is the knowledge that The Exorcist season 2 ended on a cliffhanger.
"If we're lucky enough to get a season 3, this year we talked about how we wanted to bring in elements from other cultures and other faiths and start exploring other ways that other religions out there may be fighting the same battle," said series creator Jeremy Slater. "They may have other methodologies and other names for evil, but they're all kind of fighting the same thing. Each year we talk about doing that, and then when we start putting out 10 hours of TV on the board, we always realize we don't have time to do it justice." Slater also added this on twitter:
I know it's easy to get angry at Fox, but the reality is that we were the lowest-rated drama on any network and they still brought us back for a second season, because they loved the show. There are no bad guys in this scenario.
— Jeremy Slater (@jerslater) May 11, 2018
Lucifer Cancelled
The Exorcist isn't the only hellish Fox show to get its walking papers. Fox has also cancelled Lucifer after three seasons. Lucifer was a midseason show that over-performed with viewers, thus giving it the chance for a second and third season. But now it seems the show has run its course as far as Fox is concerned. The show, based on the comic book characters created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg, starred Tom Ellis as the devil himself, who winds up on earth solving mysteries. Ellis tweeted the following in the wake of the news:
I've just been trying to tweet my thanks about your overwhelming response and I can't because my twitter keeps crashing on my phone. #lucifer is trending #1 worldwide.😳 😈
— tom ellis (@tomellis17) May 11, 2018
Lauren German, who also starred on the show, had this to say:
Designated Survivor Cancelled
Fox isn't the only network in cancellation mode. ABC announced they are cancelling Designated Survivor after two seasons. The upcoming May 16 season finale will now become the series finale. The Kiefer Sutherland series started off strong, winning a 2016 Critics' Choice Award for Most Exciting New Series, but ratings have been on a steady decline. Per TV Line, the show "ranks ninth and seventh among all ABC dramas, having dropped sharply from its freshman averages."
Sutherland played a low-level Cabinet member becomes President of the United States "after a catastrophic attack kills everyone above him in the line of succession." After this, Sutherland's character struggles with the Presidency while also trying to figure out who caused the event that killed everyone above him. The series was created by David Guggenheim, and also starred Natascha McElhone, Adan Canto, Italia Ricci and LaMonica Garrett.
Quantico Cancelled
And here's yet another ABC show that's been shown the door: Quantico. Quantico ran for three seasons, with season three being shorter than the two seasons before it. The show had remained off the air for almost a full year before returning for its third season on April 26, 2018. Per THR, "After being off the air for nearly a year, the premiere opened to a lackluster 0.5 in the adults 18-49 demo and less than 3 million total viewers — tying its series low." The show stars Priyanka Chopra, and focuses on "young FBI recruits who have come to the Quantico base in Virginia for 21 weeks of training to become special agents. The recruits have been thoroughly vetted and are considered the best and the brightest – but each one possesses secrets, including hidden reasons for enlisting."
Quantico recently hired a new showrunner for season 3, Michael Seitzman, who told EW: "I wanted to make something that had evolved to another level...I really like the show, so I wanted to be very respectful to it. At the same time, it's a third season, and you want it to evolve in the third season." Apparently, this wasn't enough to bring audiences back. Seitzman took to twitter to announce that the rest of season 3 will air despite the cancellation.
Alex, Inc. Cancelled
Did anybody watch Alex, Inc.? I didn't, because I didn't realize it had aired. But it had, and it's also been cancelled by ABC after one season. The show starred Zach Braff as a former radio producer who launches a podcast network. Per TV Line, Alex, Inc. "debuted to 4.6 mil and a 1.1 in the coveted 18-49 demo. Ratings have since fallen off.
Great News Cancelled
Fox and ABC aren't the only people cancelling shows like crazy. NBC also wants in on this action, so they've cancelled the show Great News. The Tina Fey-produced series focused on a woman and her mother who both work at a TV news station. It ran for two seasons, and had a minor following, with many comparing it to Fey's other series 30 Rock in terms of surrealist humor. Nonetheless, NBC has decided to pull the plug. According to TVLine, the show "ranked as one of broadcast TV's lowest-rated sitcoms."
This is, in a sense, the opposite of great news. Sorry.
Taken Cancelled
Taken, a show based on the Liam Neeson movie of the same name, has also been cancelled by NBC after two season. According to The Wrap, "the Clive Standen-led series was managing a 0.7 rating in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and a total of 4.4 million viewers in its 9 p.m. Friday time slot." Per TVLine, Taken "stands as NBC's lowest-rated drama." The show serves as a prequel to the movies, showing the film series character Bryan Mills in his younger CIA days. Universal Television and EuropaCorp TV USA will now try to shop the show to a new network.