One of Your Favorite New Shows Could Be On Its Way to Cancellation

We won’t judge you by what you consider your new favorite show…much.

ABC

The network that continues to deliver juggernaut Modern Family to a consistently fawning fanbase is having more than a bit of trouble with their new fall season. Two of which, 666 Park Avenue, and Last Resort, look to be destined for the chopping block before the season ends. And we’re really not surprised. In our review earlier this year of both 666 Park Avenue and Last Resort, both shows have more than their fair share of problems. 666 Park suffers from an acute overly simplistic take on mystery and horror. Frankly, it has no place in the world of scripted drama where the cable shows have set the bar on dastardly deeds, villains, and people you love to hate to such a high and nuanced level that if network television doesn’t find a way to take some risks, it will always be looked at as the popcorn version of better done shows elsewhere. And from the outset Last Resort promised to be a bit of a convoluted, hodge-podge of things. Often critics weren’t sure if the premise was brilliant or insane, either way, it made the show a huge gamble. And it doesn’t appear to be paying off if ratings are any indication.

Four others have found themselves squarely in “toss up” territory with regard to either cancellation or renewal including Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23, a funny hit from last season given a prime spot on Tuesday nights this season after a Happy Endings lead-in; Scandal, the Kerry Washington helmed political drama; The Neighbors, which appears to be some silly thing about green aliens infiltrating suburbia; and Nashville which is struggling to find its footing after being hailed as the next big thing in great primetime soaps next to Revenge, last season’s ABC breakout hit. Our guess is maybe since there’s already one show on the network which pits a younger female newcomer against a stalwart veteran female, even if the stories are different; perhaps they’re not divergent enough for one network.

CBS

Well, that Made in Jersey show was here and gone so fast this blogger never even saw the premiere. We imagine it was pretty heinous to get the heave-ho so early. Sheesh. Was there an Ann Coulter, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann slumber party happening in the first episode? Let’s not contemplate that too hard.

The next show that could find itself quickly wrapped up is Partners, the show about a gay best friend and a not gay best friend living together and all the fun, relationship hijinks that coincide with this type of straight man/gay man friendship, or so the creators of Will & Grace would have you think. America, however, thinks not. Doesn’t this thing look like so many other things that are similar going back to those The Odd Couple/Perfect Strangers days? Sigh. This isn’t a surprise. Yet, the critically acclaimed The Good Wife looking a bit shaky is! We wonder what’s happening here. Maybe it’s the time slot. Sunday nights at 9pm going up against nearly everything good cable has to offer. Ouch. Looks like they’re taking a beating by bootlegging serial killers who fight off zombies. HA! You know what we mean.

We’re less surprised about CSI: NY, The Mentalist and Vegas having trouble. One is the last vestige in a pretty much long dead franchise, the other is an offering in a long list of “detective with uncanny ability” shows, and the last is Dennis Quaid in Vegas trying to keep order while riding a horse and chasing gangsters — a long shot if we ever saw one. TV By the Numbers reports that at least one of these will be canceled to make room for other dramas next fall.

CW

Well, things aren’t really looking good for much of the CW’s programming. With their network re-launch drama, Gossip Girl, the show about headbands, winding down its final season, the void was supposed to be filled by several of their other shows. However, many are not showcasing staying power. What’s winning? Shows about supernatural beings. Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, and newcomer Arrow, are doing the best on the network.

The first likely to get cancelled on the network is Emily Owens, M.D. The freshman doctor drama started off slow and hasn’t picked up in its following weeks. Despite the not bad acting by Mamie Gummer, Meryl Streep’s daughter, it just may be “Doctor Show Fatigue” mixed with “Fish Out of Water Complacency” that’s caused waning and stagnant interest. The viewing public just may be tiring of both these show types. See also, Made in Jersey. We’ll also add that maybe it could be time to give some of the guys a shot in some of these shows. There has been an uptick in the fish-out-of-water genre starring young women. What about the dudes? Are guys never shell-shocked by new surroundings? Maybe a little more balance could be in order. To that end, the CW shows Hart of Dixie and Beauty and the Beast are also flagging and could end up cancelled by season’s end.

FOX

Fox, the network that still hosts Glee for some unknown reason to good ratings to boot, has apparently made some solid choices. Most of their new shows aren’t heading to the chopping block with the exception of two. The Mob Doctor starring Jordana Spiro of My Boys fame will likely be the first cut from the network, and it’s no real wonder. We never fully understood or rallied behind this mob doctor show. It seemed a bit of a reach, and viewers agree, and well again here we are with another female-driven doctor show. Family-centered/black sheep comedy Ben And Kate also isn’t faring well. And we’ve seen this sitcom. The best we can say is that it has its cute moments, but by and large it’s just too silly and predictable with not enough serious earnest appeal to keep the other antics from taking over.

NBC

Is it too early to say that NBC has rallied? Hmm, that’s an interesting proposition. It all depends on what you consider a rally. The success of their new blackout apocalyptic show Revolution, or the success of their monster-morphing show Grimm, or the wunderkind success of Matthew Perry’s quirky sad sack show Go On?

These are the things that are happening. However, in efforts to preserve their slide back into the viewing public’s good graces they may be cutting some real chum as in the great decision to already sack Animal Practice, that goofy thing about a surly veterinarian and his monkey sidekick. (C’mon! Really NBC?!)

Three that could follow in Animal Practice’s footsteps are Up All Night, the Christina Applegate, Will Arnet, Maya Rudolph parental laugher, Guys with Kids, the dudebro parental laugher, and Chicago Fire, Beefcake Backdraft. What we can take from the floundering ratings of these shows is a lack of interest in the struggles of new parents with babies combined with the tired trope of yet another trauma-esque show. Or, that Guys With Kids show is just patently awful. Like seriously, seriously bad. The latter is definitely true. It really shows NBC’s hard-to-ditch penchant for fantastically stupid programming despite its strides this season combined with a consistent message in what not to do.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *