Every TV Show That Just Got Canceled
Ah, springtime. The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, and behind closed doors somewhere in Hollywood, network executives are absolutely massacring prime-time lineups. TV cancellation season, which typically comes ahead of annual industry upfront meetings, is always a brutal time for both fans of television and the folks behind the scenes hoping to keep their jobs.
This year's cancellation onslaught has already been especially brutal, with around 20 shows axed across the big five networks in the past week or so alone. The CW was the biggest offender, nixing seven shows in one day, including several spin-offs and reboots that seemed relatively secure. Luckily, we're almost at the end of the anxiety-inducing waiting period during which fans of network shows have to wait to hear how their favorites fared. Ahead of industry upfronts this week, here's the current state of cancellations.
ABC
Surprisingly, nearly every ABC series that was still on the renewal bubble ahead of upfronts will live to air another day. Only two ABC series were axed during the recent onslaught of cancellation, one of which had already been pushed off onto another platform.
The drama "Promised Land," which follows the exploits of a powerful Latin-American family in California's Sonoma Valley, was moved from ABC to Hulu mid-season before being cancelled last week. The show reportedly brought in the lowest ratings of any scripted ABC show this season. The network also cancelled the musical drama "Queens," starring singers Eve and Brandy along with Naturi Naughton and Nadine Velazquez. The series followed four former hip-hop stars who attempt to reunite for a comeback in their '40s. Unfortunately, "Queens" never got its big break, as the show slipped in ratings throughout its single-season run.
The fate of all the Disney-owned streamers' shows has now been decided, with fan favorites like "Grey's Anatomy," "The Bachelor," "The Conners," and "Abbott Elementary" all set to return.
CBS
Paramount-owned CBS pulled the plug on five shows this week. In one of the more surprising cancellations of the season, the network decided to end "Magnum P.I." after four seasons. The reboot of the Tom Selleck-led crime caper starred Jay Hernandez as veteran turned private investigator Thomas Magnum. The network also said goodbye to "Good Sam," a hospital-set drama led by Jason Isaacs and Sophia Bush that just finished its rookie season.
Along with the above shows, CBS ended four sitcoms, including "B Positive," "United States of Al," and "How We Roll." The latter, a sitcom about a professional bowler starring comedian Pete Holmes, only lasted one season. Both "B Positive" and "United States of Al" stuck around for two seasons, but didn't make the final cut before upfronts. The latter two shows were both helmed by Chuck Lorre, the network's long-time hitmaker who co-created both "Two and a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory." Despite their pedigree, neither of Lorre's latest shows seemed to quite find their footing.
CBS seemed to be through with cancellations for the season, having renewed flagship shows like "NCIS," "Blue Bloods," "S.W.A.T." and "Young Sheldon." The network previously announced that its long-running legal drama "Bull" would end this May with the final of its sixth season.
The CW
While other networks moderately culled their prime time lineups, the CW ended up engaged in a full-blown programming massacre. The Paramount and Warner Bros. co-owned network axed seven shows in one day last week, including plenty of fan favorites and a highly anticipated newbie. Superhero fans were apparently unwilling to show up for "Naomi," a series about a young Black girl with superpowers (Kaci Walfall) based on DC comics. The network set the tone for its cancellation spree at the end of April, when it also put an unceremonious end to DC shows "Batwoman" and "Legends of Tomorrow."
In fact, many of the CW cancellations come as a surprise, given the fact that nearly all of them are reboots or spinoffs of successful titles. "Charmed," "Dynasty," "Roswell, New Mexico," and "4400" were all reimaginings of cult or mainstream classics, and all of them got the boot last week. "Legacies" was a spin-off of "The Vampire Diaries," while Ben Stiller-produced crime drama "In The Dark" came from an original idea. The swift cancellation of all of these shows, several of which included groundbreakingly diverse casts and many of which were already comfortably in their fourth seasons and beyond, is certainly a shock.
The CW hasn't completely overhauled its schedule, as it has renewed shows like "Riverdale," "Nancy Drew," and "The Flash." As with ABC and CBS, the CW has now determined the fate of all its current scripted programming for the fall season.
FOX
As of publication time, FOX is the only major network ahead of upfronts that, according to IndieWire, has yet to determine the fate of a good chunk of its lineup. Still, the powers-that-be behind the channel have already made a few cuts. This past week, outlets reported that both "Pivoting" and "Our Kind of People" have been canceled after one season each. "Pivoting" was a comedy about a group of friends who decide to revamp their lives after losing a loved one, while Lee Daniels' "Our Kind of People" was based on a book by Lawrence Otis Graham. FOX previously announced the cancellation of "The Big Leap," another freshman series, back in March.
FOX still has several key shows on the renewal bubble, including some of its biggest ratings earners. "9-1-1" and its spinoff series "9-1-1: Lone Star" are both awaiting news of renewal or cancellation, as are medical drama "The Resident" and sitcoms "Welcome to Flatch" and "Call Me Kat."
NBC
Three NBC series were shown the exit this past week. The Morena Baccarin-led heist series "The Endgame" was cancelled after one season, while "Saturday Night Live" comedian Kenan Thompson's sitcom "Kenan" ended after two. Finally, Tina Fey and Robert Carlock's series "Mr. Mayor," which saw Ted Danson playing an ill-prepared new Los Angeles mayor, also got the axe after two seasons.
Though the cancellation of "The Endgame" hits hard given that the show ended on a cliffhanger with plenty of loose threads (literally), the other two cancellations also indicate that having a powerhouse like "SNL" on one's resume doesn't always guarantee success at the Comcast-owned network anymore. Another single-season series, "Ordinary Joe," was cancelled back in March.
NBC has pretty much wrapped up its cancellation season, with flagship series like "Law & Order: SVU," "New Amsterdam," and the Chicago-set procedurals all being picked up for new seasons, along with buzzed-about new sitcoms "Grand Crew" and "American Auto."