This Just In: New, Cancelled, Returning, And On-Hiatus Shows News

[Kromm]

Mainly I suppose this topic will see action speculating about what the first of the Fall 2014 shows to be cancelled will be (place your bets now based on trailers & spoilers!), but at the same time I'm sure we can also accommodate a rolling "what show will be cancelled next" thing too (extra useful in months that aren't in the Fall).

 

For example, I hear CBS' Reckless is getting amazingly shit ratings.  The caveat is that since it's a summer show they may just allow it to play out the current episodes and silently not renew it.  During the summer they have very few replacements ready, so if they yank a show it's often just to show repeats of a popular show instead.

 

Getting back to Fall 2014 shows, just based on nothing but timeslots and how lame the ideas sound, I'm thinking Madam Secretary, Jane The Virgin, Manhattan Love Story, A to Z... these are all gonna be in trouble.

Edited February 20, 2017 by Drogo

[Wax Lion]

I think Jane the Virgin has a chance, actually. It's got good buzz, the premise is unique (which would be a liability without the good buzz) as a telenovela adaptation it's unusual for TV and the CW president said he doesn't want to be an all sci-fi network. Even if ratings are bad, you have the factors that will, at the least, earn it patience.

 

Forever has my vote for first cancellation. It debuts early and airs Tuesday at 10PM which was the death slot at ABC last season (three shows were cancelled in that time slot).

 

The Selfie/Manhattan Love Story combination looks like the new Work It/Man Up! I'd like to give Selfie a chance because of the cast, but the trailer is so over the top and the critics I've seen mention it hate it. MLS apparently belongs to the same terrible comedy category that gave us Mixology last season.

 

Fox's new reality show Utopia sounds like a big risk, though less of a risk than The X-Factor was a drain. Overall, audiences aren't open to new reality shows and the ads haven't been compelling.

 

I hate to say it but The Mysteries of Laura sounds like it could be one of those shows that gets terrible reviews and good ratings, like Chicago Fire a couple years ago.

 

In the battle of DC comic shows, I think Constantine has a chance (I'm seeing a lot more interest among comic readers) while Gotham will debut big and fizzle by the end of season. It'll be one of those shows where renewal comes down to factors other than ratings (like how much Fox wants to have a comic book show). The Flash will debut big and get a full season, I hope it will be good enough to hold onto that audience.

[mansonlamps]

Is the Mysteries of Laura the new one with Kathryn Heigl?

[Kel Varnsen]

In the battle of DC comic shows, I think Constantine has a chance (I'm seeing a lot more interest among comic readers) while Gotham will debut big and fizzle by the end of season. It'll be one of those shows where renewal comes down to factors other than ratings (like how much Fox wants to have a comic book show). The Flash will debut big and get a full season, I hope it will be good enough to hold onto that audience.

Speaking of comic book shows (and I know it is not a fall show) but I am not sure I have high hopes for Agent Carter sticking around very long. I mean I think that Agents of SHIELD barely scraped by to make it into a second season (probably because there wasn't a lot that was better). And the concept and the setting of Agent Carter seem like a much harder sell to the TV audience (kind of like AoS, but set in the 1940's the guy from Avengers isn't, Sam Jackson isn't going to be showing up and your favourite heroes aren't even going to be namedropped (except for dead captain america)). If those first few episodes aren't just amazing I am not sure what they are going to do. If they are as mediocre as most of Agents of SHIELD was then I predict it gets cancelled after season 1.

Edited July 31, 2014 by Kel Varnsen

[mishy]

Is the Mysteries of Laura the new one with Kathryn Heigl?

I think Mysteries is the one with Debra Messing. The Heigl show is called State of Affairs.

[Kromm]

I think Mysteries is the one with Debra Messing. The Heigl show is called State of Affairs.

Yes,and don't confuse EITHER of them with the Tea Leoni show (Madame Secretary).  My gut is saying probably all three will crash and burn, but despite Heigl being a horrorshow of an actress, her show probably will have the best legs of the three, because it's got a conspiracy plotline (whereas the Tea Leoni show is like the spiritual successor of that Commander in Chief show with Geena Davis as the President, only now it's Tea Leoni as the Secretary of State, and the Debra Messing show is the incredibly unique high concept 'single Mom is a cop with the NYPD').

[Kromm]

re: the comic book shows.

 

I think @Wax Lion is right that The Flash will do well through the whole season.  Also that Gotham will do gangbusters in the beginning. I agree that Gotham will fall off, and then yes, it's in trouble later on. Why?  Not due to the show itself, but the competition.  If the show is lucky it will get a lot of timeshifted and streaming viewers.  But if FOX goes JUST by on the night ratings they will consider the show a disaster.  Dancing With The Stars, The Voice and Big Bang theory are painfully hard competition.  Likely Gotham will place fourth every single week other than it's first episode.  The key to Gotham surviving will be if they lock in the younger viewer demographics and can hawk the show based on that, if they timeshifted and streaming ratings are models of how those things should work, etc.  If not?  Fox BETTER be willing to move the show to another timeslot.  Fast.  Early enough for new viewers to still risk starting the show once they realize they won't have to give up their DWTS or Voice habit.

 

I also fear for both Constantine and Agent Carter.  The problem with Constantine will be this: it's airing on NBC.  If it was on The CW it would do well (and they'd let it play out hoping to pick up the same audience as Supernatural). While NBC DOES have Grimm to link this show to (and even on the same night) and hope for similar viewers, I don't know if they have the patience.  That said, Grimm being their lead, plus shit competition (20/20 and Blue Bloods) may be enough.  Agent Carter is mid-season, and I think going right into Agents of Shield's timeslot, so one might assume it will get all of AoS' viewers.  But consider how much trouble AoS itself will be in. The competition is a fancy new NCIS show (guaranteed ratings) and Supernatural. So I think AoS and Agent Carter will both bend under that weight.

 

That said, ALL of these shows will last through their current episode commitments I think.  Gotham got a 16 ep commitment. I don't think that will be either shrunk, or grown.  I think worst case, Fox will find a way to burn off the episodes even if they give up on the show. Constantine I think got 13 episodes (which means it might be eligible for a "back nine"...we shall see).  Agent Carter is being designed strictly to fill a hole while AoS is off the air, so it's going to be 8 episodes no matter what.

[mishy]

Yes,and don't confuse EITHER of them with the Tea Leoni show (Madame Secretary).  My gut is saying probably all three will crash and burn, but despite Heigl being a horrorshow of an actress, her show probably will have the best legs of the three, because it's got a conspiracy plotline (whereas the Tea Leoni show is like the spiritual successor of that Commander in Chief show with Geena Davis as the President, only now it's Tea Leoni as the Secretary of State, and the Debra Messing show is the incredibly unique high concept 'single Mom is a cop with the NYPD').

I just looked at the preview/trailer thing and Mysteries looks awful to me. I can see both the Leoni show and the Heigl show making it the season. Madame Secretary is on CBS and I think CBS/CBS viewers would like this kind of show and it doesn't look that terrible to me. I thought I read that State of Affairs tested well or something. Or maybe it played really well at the Upfronts in the spring? I don't know something like that. Whether people watch is another story, I suppose.

[Kromm]

The Flash IS up against the mothership NCIS, as well as The Voice results show, but the results shows aren't as much of a threat, and while NCIS is going to win that timeslot no matter WHAT, The Flash has a decent chance of doing well with crap like "Selfie" and "Utopia" on the other two channels.

[Kromm]

Okay, here's me breaking my own thread rules and giving the reverse of a cancellation prediction.  

 

I think "Stalker" is going to be a big hit (for a 10PM show, I mean--which is never quite as big as other hours). While it does share "cop" in the description with one of it's timeslot competitors (Chicago PD), I think Stalker is nothing like EITHER show its up against (Chicago PD or Nashville), and in fact will develop its own following. It will also get a HUGE spillover from it's lead-in, "Criminal Minds", because it's going to have a lot in common with that show, without being an outright copycat.

 

EDIT - OR.. not. I won't delete my post, but apparently this show got TOTALLY savaged a few weeks ago at a Television Critics Association screening.  That's... pretty bad news.  The early promo material made it seem like a perfect fit for CBS and it's lead in, and it had atmosphere to spare, but if the critics are right the actual execution is horrible.  

Edited July 31, 2014 by Kromm

[Princess Sparkle]

The show I'm most worried about is Mulaney.  I LOVE John Mulaney, so I want good things for the show, but the time slot terrifies me.  Right now, the Sunday night lineup on Fox is Bobs Burgers, The Simpsons, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Family Guy, Mulaney.  I think Mulaney should probably be paired directly with Brooklyn Nine-Nine, since I think the audience overlaps more with that than with Family Guy (I'm guessing the problem is that Fox doesn't want to put Family guy on before 9 pm).  Though, I actually think Fox should've left Brooklyn Nine-Nine on Tuesday and just added Mulaney to that lineup, since all those shows would go together well.  But putting it on Sunday, where it's inevitably going to be pushed back by football, is going to make it hard to keep the audience.  The only good thing is that I think Fox in the past two years has given some second chances to their lower rated comedy shows (like the Mindy Project, and lower ratings on New Girl), so maybe there's some hope.  But really, I just hope that Utopia crashes and burns so they can move Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Mulaney to Tuesdays, since I'm also worried that Brooklyn Nine-Nine's ratings will take a hit with being on Sunday as well.

Edited July 31, 2014 by Princess Sparkle

[Wax Lion]

CBS shows are usually critic-proof and the first season of The Following managed to be a big hit despite being savaged by critics. If its in danger, I expect it'll happen because it's not doing well enough for CBS, which is frequently hard to predict.

 

There are a bunch of shows that make sense on paper, I'm still not sure if they'll work that way. State of Affairs mixes the crazy of The Blacklist with the politics of Homeland and Scandal. Madame Secretary follows a professional woman in a high power job and leads into The Good Wife. There's also the SHIELD/Agent Carter combo.

 

On the other hand, there's the mix of the endangered white male sitcom last man standing with the latin american family comedy Cristela.

[AimingforYoko]

Forever has my vote for first cancellation. It debuts early and airs Tuesday at 10PM which was the death slot at ABC last season (three shows were cancelled in that time slot).

Plus it's copying the premise of a previously short-lived show, New Amsterdam.(Starring Jaimie Lannister)

[Joe]

Speaking of comic book shows (and I know it is not a fall show) but I am not sure I have high hopes for Agent Carter sticking around very long. I mean I think that Agents of SHIELD barely scraped by to make it into a second season (probably because there wasn't a lot that was better). And the concept and the setting of Agent Carter seem like a much harder sell to the TV audience (kind of like AoS, but set in the 1940's the guy from Avengers isn't, Sam Jackson isn't going to be showing up and your favourite heroes aren't even going to be namedropped (except for dead captain america)). If those first few episodes aren't just amazing I am not sure what they are going to do. If they are as mediocre as most of Agents of SHIELD was then I predict it gets cancelled after season 1.

I thought Agent Carter was supposed to be a miniseries, or a deliberately one-season affair. But if it's ongoing, I'm not sure it'll actually go on.

[Kromm]

I thought Agent Carter was supposed to be a miniseries, or a deliberately one-season affair. But if it's ongoing, I'm not sure it'll actually go on.

Marvel/ABC seems unclear on this.  I know the intent is to create an 8 week "relief" period, where AoS can be off the air but the viewers are still in the Marvel Cinematic Universe programming block, but what's unclear is if this is intended as a one-off thing, and if not if the idea isn't simply to put SOME Marvel Cinematic programming in the slot, and it could be something different each time.  

 

In many ways that second approach might be best.  If something does exceptionally well, they can spin off either a real TV series, a theatrical, a second limited run, a Netflix series... they have lots of options. It controls expectations--they can milk it as a special event but also not need expect it to do anything more than hold the line on ratings--although, again, I expect AoS own ratings to sag even more, because New Girl, Supernatural and an NCIS show are totally going to wipe the floor with it (NBC is the only network that won't be a threat in that hour, because they have their own cancellation bait, called "Marry Me" sitting in that timeslot).

[Actionmage]

I thought that Fox's Hieroglyph was the first casualty, cancelled before it was ever aired. Or was it just delayed?

[Haleth]

Gosh, I must be living under a rock (or not watch much network tv) because I haven't heard of any of these new shows.  But they all sound dreadful.

[coolnightinparis]

I'm already seeing signs that The Librarians may not be very successful. There was a tepid reaction to the announcement for the series back in April, TNT didn't bother to promote it at Comic Con, the promo reel was basically clips of The Librarian movies and nobody seems to know when the show is being released. IMDB looks like it has the two part pilot slated for the last week of October; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3663490/episodes?ref_=tt_ql_6  ; On Twitter the producers and show runner keep saying the pilot premieres in December.  Watching reports of the production online have been amusing at best, I have no idea what's going on with this thing and the only people the show seems to appeal to so far are Christian Kane fans.

Edited August 3, 2014 by coolnightinparis

[Joe]

I thought that Fox's Hieroglyph was the first casualty, cancelled before it was ever aired. Or was it just delayed?

No, it was cancelled.

[AntiBeeSpray]

I think Stalker (CBS) will be cancelled. Saw a preview for it on a commercial and it seems downright creepy.

[Kromm]

I think Stalker (CBS) will be cancelled. Saw a preview for it on a commercial and it seems downright creepy.

I was convinced it was going to be a big hit, until I heard some of the critics who have seen it have trashed it.

 

It's hard to say.  "Criminal Minds" is downright creepy (and is Stalker's lead-in).  I don't know if "creepy" is always a bad thing for TV (and Wednesday 10PM is probably a "controllable" timeslot in terms of competition). So the main key here is probably the execution.

 

I mean if "creepy" drove people off then shows like Salem, American Horror Story, Hannibal, etc. wouldn't have a market either.

[jhlipton]

iZombie has an interesting premise -- a female zombie is pals with a coroner who lets her eat the brains of the newly deceased (so she doesn't have to go after living food).  But she gets the memories of the people she eats.  Sort of a REALLY morbid Dead Zone.  I'm intrigued enough to try it, but I doubt my wife will want to.

[Kromm]

iZombie has an interesting premise -- a female zombie is pals with a coroner who lets her eat the brains of the newly deceased (so she doesn't have to go after living food).  But she gets the memories of the people she eats.  Sort of a REALLY morbid Dead Zone.  I'm intrigued enough to try it, but I doubt my wife will want to.

I got the impression she's eating the brains on the sly, and she worms her way into the job just to have the opportunity. Clearly we don't know yet how she discovers she needs to eat brains (I'm presuming we probably get a horrifying intro to her where she does it the more traditional way, but unlike classic Zombies she recovers her ability to think afterwards).

It's certainly creepy, and people may have to get over a fairly yuck intro to her character, and there have also apparently been rumblings that things are not going all that well with the Pilot. But in terms of the actual concept, there's no reason it can't be a fairly successful show. In addition to The Dead Zone, we also have Buffy/Angel, The Walking Dead, Supernatural, Veronica Mars, even shows like Medium or Ghost Whisperer or other more supernatural "procedurals", all feeding into it's potential "market" of viewers.

Edited August 4, 2014 by Kromm

[DittyDotDot]

I've been hearing a lot of hype over iZombie, but the fact that it's on the CW makes me think it can't live up to its interesting premise. I'm not sure it's ick and creepy factor will be its biggest problem.

 

This thread makes me feel better about my TV watching ways. I haven't heard of most of the shows mentioned so I must not be all that obsessed as some friends think I am. ;)

[jhlipton]

But in terms of the actual concept, there's no reason it can't be a fairly successful show.

Warm  Bodies. another off-beat zombie movie, did pretty well, so maybe it has a chance.  We'll have to wait until next year to see.

[AntiBeeSpray]

I was convinced it was going to be a big hit, until I heard some of the critics who have seen it have trashed it.

 

It's hard to say.  "Criminal Minds" is downright creepy (and is Stalker's lead-in).  I don't know if "creepy" is always a bad thing for TV (and Wednesday 10PM is probably a "controllable" timeslot in terms of competition). So the main key here is probably the execution.

 

I mean if "creepy" drove people off then shows like Salem, American Horror Story, Hannibal, etc. wouldn't have a market either.

 

Yea it isn't bad if it wasn't so centered on stalking O_O. That kind of thing would just put a lot of people off from watching it imo.

 

Good point.

[Kromm]

Yea it isn't bad if it wasn't so centered on stalking O_O. That kind of thing would just put a lot of people off from watching it imo.

 

Good point.

Stalking trumps bloody eviscerations in terms of putting people off? 

[AntiBeeSpray]

Stalking trumps bloody eviscerations in terms of putting people off? 

Maybe not. But the way that CBS has promoted it, would certainly put people off. 

[galax-arena]

Twisted has officially been canceled. This is shocking, said no one ever. 

[AltLivia]

Can I just throw "The Mysteries of Laura," starring Debra Messing here? Every joke in their ads is so unbearably cheesy. And the protagonist seems so unbalanced that any law enforcement agency wouldn't take her seriously.

 

Also "Am I on the guest list, Gaga?" Can we stop with (person is in a strange outfit)(Gaga reference), please? It's stale.

[topanga]

Yes,and don't confuse EITHER of them with the Tea Leoni show (Madame Secretary).

 

I love shows with strong female protagonists, but something about this one hasn't grabbed my interest. Maybe it's Tea Leoni--she always seems a bit abrasive, although I'm sure she's perfectly lovely IRL. There's just nothing about her character that makes me want to learn more about her. I'm interested in the Debra Messing show, but experience has taught me that if the central female character isn't "pretty" enough, and I have no idea who's making that call, the show often doesn't succeed. I hate that Hollywood has that crazy beauty standard for women but not men.

[formerlyfreedom]

Have there been any official cancellations yet? I can't think of any, but it seems like it's been so long since the season began...

[briochetwist]

Have there been any official cancellations yet? I can't think of any, but it seems like it's been so long since the season began...

 

Let me offer up a few suggestions.  Mulaney and The Mysteries of Laura would be a great place to start.

[Kromm]

Let me offer up a few suggestions.  Mulaney and The Mysteries of Laura would be a great place to start.

100% agreement.  Those are the two worst new shows by far. Neither show deserves even another moment of airing.

[formerlyfreedom]

When was the last time that we made it to what, the fourth week, and haven't seen something flame out horribly? I'm surprised (and I only watched 15 minutes of The Mysteries of Laura before I checked out. Haven't watched any of Mulaney). So I will accept your nominations!

[junemeatcleaver]

Selfie and that show that airs after it probably won't be around long.  There's no place for them (ABC shouldn't  move any of their other sitcoms for them when those two are hovering around 3 million viewers/1.1 in the demo) and ABC could get better numbers with a DWTS clip or recap show.

 

Red Band Society is already close to being under a 1.0 in the demo.  It most likely won't be back after the World Series.

Edited October 16, 2014 by junemeatcleaver

[Chrissytd]

Bad Judge

[Kromm]

It's a shame, because Selfie actually turned out to be a pretty good show.  As for Bad Judge, it seems to be an acquired taste, but even at it's worst it's nowhere near the hellishly bad level of Mulaney and Mysteries of Laura.

 

Gracepoint is apparently in big trouble too. It's inherently a limited series, so it's got to be BAD if they're thinking of yanking it early. But supposedly they are. Bad Judge over on NBC can't be in TOO much trouble, because they beat Gracepoint in the same timeslot.

 

A to Z (to me predictably) is in the deepest doo-doo.  It's likely to be the first to go, even if shows like Mulaney and Mysteries of Laura are crappier.

Edited October 17, 2014 by Kromm

[Wax Lion]

 

Let me offer up a few suggestions.  Mulaney and The Mysteries of Laura would be a great place to start.

Mulaney debuted to terrible ratings but The Mysteries of Laura is doing well among total viewers. It's demo numbers are underwhelming but this week it got 8.5 million, coming in second in its time slot and getting more viewers than SVU and Chicago PD. I'm not saying it's a good show, but people are watching it (mostly people over 50). At the very least that sounds like a show that will get to air all 13 episodes.

 

I don't know what to think about Red Band Society. The ratings are bad but steady and supposedly DVR numbers are good. Does that give it a chance? Right now things are so bad for Fox, a steady performer night have value on the network that keeps renewing New Girl and The Mindy Project (out of a lack of better options).

 

There are a bunch of ratings disasters but at this point picking first cancellation seems to be about judging network personalities. I think the first cancellation won't come from Fox. At this point, they can quietly pull a show and make it look like world series preemptions. ABC should burn down the Tuesday line-up and have more male-skewing shows around Agents of SHIELD, but ABC sometimes makes programming moves that make little sense (like that long streak of hangout comedies airing after Modern Family). NBC's worst night is Thursday and they might be fine letting Thursdays wither until The Blackist moves there.

[SnideAsides]

Not a US show, but on behalf of all Aussies I'm adding The Big Adventure to the list. Aside from the terrible name, all the reviews I've seen are universally negative and even the network itself (which last year tried to put The Mole on three nights a week and this year thought replacing the seasoned producers who got TAR Australia an International Emmy with an in-house team who had no experience would work, and seemed shocked when both were catastrofails) seems to know it's not getting a second season.

[DittyDotDot]

Gracepoint is apparently in big trouble too. It's inherently a limited series, so it's got to be BAD if they're thinking of yanking it early. But supposedly they are. Bad Judge over on NBC can't be in TOO much trouble, because they beat Gracepoint in the same timeslot.

 

I thought I read somewhere that part of the deal with Gracepoint was they had to air all 10 episodes--although I can't find that source right now, so maybe I'm imagining that I read such a thing. I remember thinking it was kinda funny considering that I couldn't imagine the show garnering a large enough audience to pacify network execs. It's just not that kind of show, IMO.

 

As far as the Mysteries of Laura, all I can say is a co-worker, and friend, loves this show (she would fit into the over 50 demo). I, on the other hand, have not had the desire to view one minute of it despite her encouragement (I do not yet fit into that demographic).

[paulvdb]

There are no official cancellations yet for shows that have started airing, but there have been a few shows cancelled without even airing a single episode. Hieroglyph was already mentioned, and this week Mission Control was announced as cancelled without airing a single episode. And Emerald City was also cancelled before it aired.

[formerlyfreedom]

Well, not a cancellation, but not looking good for Mulaney....

[turnitwayup]

Looks like Manhattan Love Story is cancelled. The narration from the promo bugged me so much that I never even watched it. I watch the rest of the ABC Tuesday night lineup except this one.

[Kromm]

Looks like Manhattan Love Story is cancelled. The narration from the promo bugged me so much that I never even watched it. I watch the rest of the ABC Tuesday night lineup except this one.

Ouch. This puts the wonderful but badly named (and ratings challenged) Selfie in big danger.  As the pairing with MLS, its right on the same cliff, and probably only got a tiny bit more time to turn itself around.

Too bad that piece of crap Mulaney is still around.

[Wax Lion]

Ah-ha. The November sweeps usually brings about a few cancellations... as well as a few shows that just keep getting preempted for specials throughout sweeps, only to never come back until its obvious the episodes are being burned off. I'm a bit shocked Selfie isn't getting pulled for specials, but maybe affiliates are happy enough with Thursday (which matters more to advertisers) to make up for a sinking Tuesday. Sadly, I don't think there's a place Selfie could work at ABC, except for a summer run after The Bachelor (or whichever one of those shows airs during the summer). It would be madness to break up the currently perfect Wednesday night lineup to try to save Selfie.

 

With new management, it's hard to predict how much leeway Fox will give Mulaney. Production has ended early, which pretty much signals cancellation, but it hard to figure out how long they'll keep airing it... or Red Band Society... or Utopia. (Sheesh, this season was a big disaster for Fox.) I think Reilly would have stuck with terrible ratings for 16 weeks, but now it's hard to guess.

 

Monday's ratings should be interesting since its the season premiere of 2 Broke Girls, which is now expected to kick off Monday nights and prop up The Millers. 2 Broke Girls fell apart in the ratings last year, just as CBS was grooming it to lead the night and replace HIMYM.

[Guest Accused Dingo]

I actually watched "Stalker" because if all the bad press. I mean when the reviews are THAT bad i just have to warch. And i was dissapointed. It was an average CBS show. A little Criminal Minds a little SVU. I wanted a train wreck. I got same old CBS fare.

Edited October 27, 2014 by Accused Dingo

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Maybe not. But the way that CBS has promoted it, would certainly put people off. 

 

I dunno, I enjoy Stalker. I love Maggie Q, so I was glad to see her get a new show.

[blanchowens]

Have the sads over the cancellation of The Bridge...sure not for everyone's taste but I thought it was good.

[Haleth]

The Bridge was definitely better than the same old CBS fare.

 

With every new show on Fox treading water in the death pool, I hope they at least complete the run for Gracepoint.  I need to know who dunnit, dammit!

Edited October 26, 2014 by Haleth