20 shows got cancelled this week by the networks

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May sweeps haven’t even come to a close yet, but the networks have been busy getting their fall schedules in order with the upfronts just a week away. While some shows that were “on the bubble,” like NBC’s Good Girls, got picked up for a second season, other shows got the axe. As Hecate covered, the uproar over the cancellation of Brooklyn Nine-Nine by FOX resulted in the series getting picked up by NBC for a new season. Unfortunately, some other shows weren’t so lucky.

ABC cancelled Quantico after three seasons. I didn’t even know this one was still on, as I pooped out a few episodes into the second season. At least star Priyanka Chopra has something to look forward to, as she is heading to the royal wedding. Kiefer Sutherland’s post-24 effort, Designated Survivor, is leaving the airwaves after two seasons. Also cancelled were Deception, The Crossing and Zach Braff’s return to sitcom-land, Alex, Inc.

CBS has cancelled the drama Scorpion and Jeremy Piven’s latest series, Wisdom of a Crowd. Comedies that are not coming back include Superior Donuts, 9JKL, and Me, Myself and I, which I hope means that Bobby Moynihan can return to Saturday Night Live. With Jersey Shore back on MTV, I miss his portrayal of Snooki. Kevin Can Wait was also cancelled after two seasons.

FOX cut supernatural dramas Lucifer and The Exorcist from their lineup, as well as the comedies Last Man on Earth and The Mick. I was pissed about B99, but I really liked The Mick. Kaitlin Olson plays “terrible human being you can’t help but root for” better than anyone I know. At least we’ve still got her on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

NBC did renew Good Girls, but they cancelled the Tina Fey-produced Great News. Andrea Martin is the best and the series actually made Nicole Richie funny. This is not great news by any stretch of the imagination. The Peacock also cut loose Taken, The Brave and failed Glee successor Rise.

The CW cancelled Life Sentence and Valor, of which the only fun fact I can contribute is that it was filmed here in Atlanta.

There are still a few shows left in limbo including FOX’s Ghosted, Gotham, and LA to Vegas (if this one gets cancelled, I will be severely bummed). NBC’s Timeless and Champions and CBS’s Code Black are also up in the air. I hope that the cancellation of these shows, paired with the end of many beloved series (New Girl comes to mind), brings lots of promising new shows come fall.

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ABC Upfronts

The 2018 PGA Awards

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99 Responses to “20 shows got cancelled this week by the networks”

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  1. Clare says:

    Quantico was actually unwatchable…so not surprised its gone.

    • Léna says:

      Oh yes it is. And I watched 2 seasons because I really believed in the actors. But no. And the 3rd season is even worst.

    • tracking says:

      It’s mystifying to me it lasted as long as it did. Really dreadful writing, with a (mostly) not great cast that read more like Friends dropped into the FBI Academy. I hope Ellis and Underwood show up in something good soon.

    • Ina says:

      Agreed, Priyanka Chopra is drop dead gorgeous but imho not a good actress.

      • Clare says:

        Yes she is sooo beautiful )and I LOVE her hair in the first season)…but such a terrible actress. I know they tried to explain her accent, too, but it oscillated so much between scenes I found it grating. Also the plot was just lols after the first few episodes.

      • Sonya says:

        @ina & clare- I am from India…Priyanka’s beauty if a medical wonder- tons of surgery…. you should google her pre bollywood days. But yes you are right she is a terrible actress.

      • lucy2 says:

        I agree – she is stunning and it was great to see a non-white female lead in a big network show, but I think I only made it through part of season 1.

      • mags says:

        it was a bad show for bad actors. She is pretty so she will get more chances which she does not deserve. And somehow her horrible history of publicly hooking up with married men did not get covered much in the US.

    • Deering24 says:

      It should have been a limited-run series. The initial premise was perfect for that, but couldn’t credibly stretch further than a season. Just like what happened with REVENGE.

    • NameChange says:

      I watched the entire first season (don’t judge me), but the acting was horrendous. Well, I couldn’t tell if it was the acting or the writing or both. I think people gave it a shot because of Priyanka’s looks, but holy cow …

    • leskat says:

      I started to watch Quantico the first season and by the time I realized I couldn’t STAND the plot or the horrendous acting, it was too late to quit. My husband and I would watch it just to make fun of the painfully wooden line delivery or plot twists that were telegraphed miles ahead of them happening. Priyanka Chopra is no actress, let’s make that clear. She’s so stiff and has no idea how to deliver a line to make it believable. She’s got to be one of the most stunning women out there but she’s an awful actress. That whole show needed to be gone about half a season in.

  2. Lucy2 says:

    I’m sad about the Mick and Great News, but I was devastated about Brooklyn Nine-Nine. So glad that got a second chance! Also happy about Good Girls being renewed, I really enjoyed that.

    • JennyJenny says:

      I’m sad about the Mick as well. It was one show where I could really laugh and forget about all my troubles for awhile…

      • Cran says:

        The Mick was perfectly horrible. The characters were reprehensible & lovingly portrayed by the cast. I’m pissed that such exquisite horribleness was cut. I mourn its passing.

  3. annabanana says:

    I’m sad about designated survivor and Lucifer. Especially lucifer, started liking it a lot on the 3rd season

    • KiddV says:

      I’m mad about Lucifer. I started watching it in the middle of the first season and it’s really the only show I make sure and watch. Now I have to find something to do on Monday evenings.

    • karen says:

      im quite sad about Lucifer =\
      also about [the unmentioned!] Expanse, but i choose to believe someone will rescue it!

  4. FHMom says:

    I enjoyed Designated Survivor last year, and I’d watch Kiefer in anything. This year,however, it is not good, and I keep forgetting it’s on. I wish they’d bring 24 back. Even the worse seasons were still good.

    • Jayna says:

      I agree that 24 needs to come back or at least make a movie.

      • JennyJenny says:

        Maybe a show where Jack and Chloe got married and have kids.
        I can just hear Jack now telling the kids, “Put down your iPhones!!!”

    • tracking says:

      The writing was so uneven, I drifted away. Season 1 had a very clever premise though. A 24 revival, and a West Wing revival, would be great.

    • MissMarierose says:

      Agreed. I’m sad that DS is being cancelled because I love watching Kiefer Sutherland, but the writing on that show wasn’t great. I don’t think they had an idea of where the story lines were going. Like, I love Michael J. Fox but his guest appearance as the 25th Amendment prosecutor (for lack of a better word) should’ve just ended. Extending his role as another jack-of-all-trades was a mistake.

  5. Maya says:

    So upset about designated survivor being cancelled…

  6. Pyritedigger says:

    No mention of The Expanse getting cancelled? That amazing show didn’t get enough love. Hope someone else picks it up.

    • Mabs A'Mabbin says:

      Omg. So angry about this, but not shocking as SyFy (saucy-fruity styro-foamy) loves to throw fans under the bus over actual science fiction programming. Praise the old gods, and the new, wrestling is a mainstay. Wrestling. Speaking of old gods, even George R.R. Martin’s pissed about The Expanse. Best sci-fi since BSG and poof. It’s gone. All the political intrigue. All the territorial factions. All the planetary unrest. All the intrigue of scary biologicals. Stupid saucy-fruity is as predictable as ever.

      • delphi says:

        I laughed WAY too hard at this. My entire torso hurts after “saucy-fruity styro-foamy”.

        I got hooked on this show late, but thanks to Amazon Prime I managed to binge watch it with the fella over the last two weekends. God DAMN it’s just so good! I guess SyFy is readying themselves for more lame attempts at reality TV or more parody movies that take themselves way too seriously about not taking themselves seriously. Ugh.

    • Veronica S. says:

      From what I understand, the problem was money. Whoever drew up the contract for advertising revenue for SyFy apparently didn’t realize we’re in the year 2018 and streaming services make up a significant portion of the viewership, so none of the ad revenue for those channel was bringing SyFy any income. Hence, they wound up losing money on a hit show. Here’s to hoping somebody picks it up (my money is on Amazon).

    • Shijel says:

      Netflix just rejected the Expanse, but Amazon is allegedly on the verge of picking it up. I really hope so. Loved the books and love the show. There’s a change.org petition going on right now.

  7. Reef says:

    It must be an epic feat to create a show on network tv that enough people connect with to be willing to wait to watch every week with hiatuses.
    Netflix has really ruined the way I watch tv. We’re 5 months in and the only shows this year I didn’t binge were basketball, Killing Eve, and Bob’s Burgers.

    • megs283 says:

      I agree with you RE hiatuses. It’s a rare show that makes me want to “come back” after an extended break. I wish the networks would do fewer shows with longer, better seasons.

      • Reef says:

        I actually prefer how the Brits structure their shows. More shows, less episodes but no hiatus. There’s really no reason a show needs 20+ episodes because inevitably there are filler eps that serve no purpose. Even the shows I love, there’s only maybe 5 great episodes in a 20+ ep season.

      • AG-UK says:

        @reef exactly 23 episodes yikes but they have a way in the UK to not really advertise a show so some are on and I didn’t realize they were on or if they don’t get a lot of viewers they move the time slot so it’ll be 10p then 1020p then 1155 then you forget. But their tried and true shows they will prep you for the new season, the final season of my fav The Bridge/Broen started on Friday night and they have put all the 3 seasons on prior. Like you say 6-10 episodes max. Tried with Quantico but you couldn’t make me believe they were in the FBI lord help us if they were.

      • Clare says:

        @REEF the Brits are in part able to structure shows that way because we have a different revenue model – we pay a tv liscence fee so there are no ads on the BBC, for example, and I believe channel4 is also party tax supported (although they do have ads). We’ve have some fantastic classics (like minty python) that didn’t have huge viewership figures at first, but remained on tv long enough to be become a classic despite – because it wasn’t supported by ad revenue.

        My point is, the way tv is structured works here because the revenue is generated differently – I don’t imagine the shorter seasons, longer episode, shorter series would work in the US as it wouldn’t furnish the bottom line quite so well.

        We do have other tv channels (itv etc) but they generally carry trash programming (a bit like bravo)

    • Esmom says:

      It’s true. I discovered binge watching years ago when a friend recommended Lost a few seasons in. I got the first few seasons from the library on DVD and watched them in about a week to catch up. Watching the current seasons after that in real time was agonizing! If I’m binging something now, I try to find a recap/discussion of the show to read between episodes to sort of pace myself, lol.

    • Lindy79 says:

      I really don’t get the US schedules. These mid season breaks were bad enough but now with Netflix and streaming etc. it makes waiting 2,3 even 4 months for the end of a season just so ridiculous. It kills your interest in a show.

    • Shannon says:

      YES! I don’t have cable anymore so I got Netflix instead and I do nothing but binge when I watch. I’m binging Glee right now (I know, I know) and keep thinking, “How did people just watch a show and then wait until next week for the next one?”

    • LadyMTL says:

      ITA, Reef. I can’t tell you how many shows that I stopped watching after the hiatus, generally because I simply forgot about them. The only recent exception has been The Good Place, because it is just that awesome.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      I love Killing Eve. So good!

  8. Lindy79 says:

    Gotham has gotten a 5th and final season, announced late yesterday or today.

  9. LizLemonGotMarried (aka The Hufflepuff Liz Lemon) says:

    *whispers* I liked 9JKL.
    I also liked Great News, except for the “romance” and B99 is all sorts of amazing.

  10. Backwards says:

    How is The Big Bang theory still being renewed? Do a lot of people in America watch it?

    • Merritt says:

      I don’t get it either. It is such a terrible show.

    • Darla says:

      I love The Big Bang Theory. It is my escape show and at night when I need to fall asleep without nightmares of Trump booming some crazy stuff in my ears, I turn off MSNBC and put on TBBT to go gently into that good night. 🙂

      I know everyone judges me for it, but I don’t care.

    • KiddV says:

      I love BBT, it’s a newer version of Friend’s which I also loved. I watch SitComs to be entertained, I don’t need to analyze the writing or characters, as long as it makes me laugh I’m going to watch it.

      And Young Sheldon is quite charming. I hope it lasts for a few more seasons.

    • There are so many late comers coming to TBBT.
      I admit, I was one of the early watchers that started back in 2007 when it was popping, but I had it when they rebooted the series mid run during the 5th season to repeat Penny & Leonard relationship that had happened and was over up to that point.
      This was the 2nd wave of viewers discovering TBBT.
      Last year the show began its 3rd wave of new comers to the show and I think a lot of the 2nd wave viewers have given up on the series as it ran it’s coarse for them.
      I fear TBBT might turn into a live-action version of The Simpsons and go on for a long time.

  11. Lila says:

    Most of the shows I watch are on Netflix ,Hulu, Showtime or HBO. I really don’t watch mainstream tv anymore. I think many people are like me, I think some of the networks are going to have to reinvent themselves to get viewership.

    • Rescue Cat says:

      What are some of the better HBO shows on at the moment?

    • Jag says:

      Lila, Lucifer and Gotham are on Hulu – probably others mentioned. Netflix has some of the other shows, too.

      Rescue Cat, the only HBO show that I know of right now that is good would be Westworld.

  12. Amy Tennant says:

    The only show I really, really care about is Agents of Shield, still on the bubble. Fingers crossed!

  13. wood dragon says:

    Not Lucifer!!
    I love that show!!

    • Nat says:

      I’m with you, Wood Dragon. I was on the fence about the show in the first season–just was not enjoying Chloe’s character and hung in there for Lucifer and Dr. Linda. But it really grew on me, and I got to like not just Chloe but all of the side characters, especially Amenadiel, Ellie (loved her thematically appropriate t-shirts), and Dan. I think last night’s finale made for a decent series finale, but I’m sure going to miss it!

  14. minx says:

    Loved Last Man on Earth. Oh well.

    • Nacho_friend says:

      Me too, I thought it was quirky and funny 🙁

    • AnneC says:

      So wish that someone would put together a last shortened season for last man on earth. We need a real ending!

      • minx says:

        I saw a suggestion that, if they want to save money, show a Carol flip book that explains how they all turned out.

      • AnneC says:

        Minx- I’d browse that. They could even do an animated version so they wouldn’t have to have all the set and crew costs. Have the actors of course speak the roles. In fact it could just become an animated series on Netflix a la Bojack Horsemen or Bobs Burgers.

  15. girl_ninja says:

    That Quantico show was never really that good, but its just unwatchable and for me a lot of that is due to Priyanka Chopra. She just bugs me. As a WOC myself I sometimes feel guilty because I want to support other WOC, but I just don’t like her style. Much success to her in her future endeavors.

    • me says:

      The problem with the show was it was very hard to follow. The storylines were way too detailed and it was impossible to keep up. I like Priyanka. It’s nice to see an Indian actress on TV. I am sure we will see her again.

  16. Betsy says:

    I say this not to sound like a snob, but I’ve pretty much given up on network tv shows. I just can’t get invested anymore in something that’s going to get yanked off the air after hiatuses, cancellations, un-cancellations, one season, being moved from night to night and time to time, seasons of randomly varying numbers of episodes…

    I gave up, network TV. Add to your chaotic episodic and tv scheduling to knowingly allowing sexual predators to move among your staff and I’m just turned off. Fix yourselves. I doubt I’m the only one who feels this way.

    • AnneC says:

      I just watched Great News on Hulu (or maybe netflix) and really enjoyed it. The networks and their business plan are dinosaurs and not long for this earth.

    • lucy2 says:

      I don’t think I watch any network dramas – they’re all cops/lawyers/hospital shows, and I don’t care for those. I do watch a few network comedies though, but everything else is cable or streaming.

  17. Case says:

    I think networks try out TOO MANY new shows every season and then cancel them before they can build a base. I remember seeing commercials for shows like 9JKL and Me, Myself, and I and thinking “Yikes, those look awful and don’t possibly stand a chance of survival.” For each bunch of new shows, it feels like only two or three make the cut by May. I blame that partially on networks still choosing some cringe-worthy stuff when we have Netflix and Hulu to turn to, but in other cases, I don’t think they give new shows enough time to develop an audience. Some shows don’t catch on right away but if given time to grow, they can become popular.

  18. Darla says:

    The only one of these I care about is Timeless. It’s such an amazing show, so diverse, and they really put the work in on the history. I am going to be sooooo bummed if they do not renew Timeless.

    • NameChange says:

      It is a great show with a great premise. So depressing, though, when they go back in time and I have to be reminded of the systemic racism and sexism embedded in American society.

    • Imqrious2 says:

      I loved that show, but honestly got tired of waiting for it to come back. Hiatus was too long.

  19. Nacho_friend says:

    Anyone know what happened to Once Upon A Time?

  20. Lari says:

    We watch so little free to air tv, that our aerial got wrecked by a tree 2 years ago and we’ve never replaced it. It’s all Netflix or on demand for us. But I am super bummed about Lucifer, that was a fun show.

  21. Amelie says:

    I haven’t watched or lived with cable TV since last fall so the only shows I know were shows that started before I stopped having a TV. The majority of these shows I had never heard of… with Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Video I have no need for TV. The only show I know of that I don’t watch that is considered really big on TV is This Is Us.

    • Jag says:

      Lucifer (3 seasons) and Gotham (last 5 episodes) are on Hulu. There might be more of these shows on all of the streaming sites you mentioned, so check them out. I haven’t watched actual television since the second season of The Walking Dead ended. lol

  22. Va Va Kaboom says:

    Speaking of shows that were on the chopping block, I noticed the Blacklist was finally renewed for a sixth season. I hope the uncertainty has snapped the show runners back to reality because even James Spader is having difficulty carrying water for the convulated writing.

  23. paranormalgirl says:

    I’ll miss “Scorpion.”

  24. Jess says:

    I love Champions so I hope that stays. So glad NBC rescued B99. Bummed about Great News because Andrea Martin is a comedy genius.

  25. Maria F. says:

    i also hope the LA to Vegas gets a second season. It is one of the comedy shows you need to watch at least 3-4 episodes of until it gets its flow. The characters are really funny, Dylan McDermott overacts with so much gusto.

  26. Michelle says:

    So glad they cancelled Kevin Can Wait. When they brought Leah Remini in (love her though), I thought ‘uh oh’. Then they killed off the mom for no reason at all, and that was enough for me to give up. My husband didn’t stop watching and when I saw last week that they had the cast of the movie Grown Ups on the show, I knew it had jumped the shark. Warmed over King of Queens was never gonna work.

    • lucy2 says:

      I didn’t remember that was that show! I don’t want to gloat over anyone losing their job, but…I’m guessing the actress who got unceremoniously killed off for Leah isn’t too sad at this news.

    • Crimson says:

      Too bad they lost a lot of their audience after killing off the mom. I used to like KoQs mostly because of Leah R’s character. Kevin James just bugs me to death, so I never could watch him in KCW.

  27. TheVoice says:

    Oh no! Im so bummed about Great News being cancelled! It wasn’t for everyone but I laughed so hard watching most episodes. I love Andrea Martin and Briga Heelan. They were the best together. I hope they find other projects because they were fantastic!

    • jwoolman says:

      Maybe one of the streaming services will pick it up as an original series. They seem to be doing that more and more. Since people can watch any time they want, that gives them a lot more flexibility in picking up an audience and keeping it.

  28. phatypopo says:

    The Mick/Great News – such a tragedy!!! These shows were so good!

    • Ellecommelejour says:

      I used to love the Mick but stopped watching because of Alba’s accent, it was so irritating !!!

  29. Reece says:

    As long as The Blacklist is fine, there will be no raging.

  30. Madpoe says:

    Not surprised with The Exorcist, sad cos I actually had high hopes.
    Gotham should shut it down, its the same ol formula *yawn* I do like actors who play Ed Nygma and Penguin tho’.

  31. serena says:

    Thank god for Brooklyn 99.. I love that show dearly.

  32. Emily says:

    LA to Vegas is already a favourite and Champions is pretty great. This year reminds me of when networks cancelled Grandfathered and Grinder, arguabley the best new shows of that year (excuse me, Stamos and Low 🔥 ). What world do we live in where B99 was cancelled and Young Sheldon is on TV.

  33. Dylan says:

    Wow, they cancelled the few network shows I watch. Lucifer (Why God Why?) & Designated Survivor. If Timeless doesn’t make it, I”ll be a so disappointed.

  34. Eden75 says:

    How will I get my Tom Ellis fix now? Damn it, I love that man.

    My son and I were pissed about the 99, then happy it was picked up again but now concerned that NBC will ruin it. Fingers crossed on that.

  35. Jag says:

    I read that Gotham is gone, too, but will have a half-season to wrap up things.

    #SaveLucifer because someone needs to #PickUpLucifer since it’s a great show! They ended the season last night with a cliffhanger so that they wouldn’t get canceled, but the network did anyway. I really hope Hulu picks it up, since that’s where I watch it, but there’s another possibility with Disney or something that people have been mentioning. Fingers crossed.

  36. Jag says:

    Sorry duplicate post for some reason.