TKAA Officially Cancelled

[HeySandyStrange]

53 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

Huge long shot. Broadcast TV doesn’t get much Emmy love anymore.

Yeah, I know, but a girl can dream. The cast is very talented, and the writing was top knotch imo. It would be a real F-you! to ABC is the sitcom they cancelled was one if their only to get any Emmy's love. 

[AnnaRose]

14 hours ago, Marly Holley said:

Tim Doyle tweeted it was the “new bosses” at ABC who , from what I can figure out had histories with some of the other show runners/creators whose shows were saved that were not doing as well as TKAA or not as well received, (this from when the bosses were at FOX) and saved those shows based on that. Tim tweeted that ABC’s decisions on the matter were “like high school with money.”

I wonder if that is why somebody at ABC kept f-ckin around with the TKAA schedule... like when they pulled TKAA during May Sweeps to show a repeat of the terrible Bless This Mess (which must have been the favorite because it got renewed even though it shouldn't have)... or when they removed it from the schedule listings so enough people thought it wasn't on - probably enough to drop the demo rating a critical point right before cancellation decisions were made.

10 hours ago, dcalley said:

That's exactly how I'm feeling about this news.

1 hour ago, HeySandyStrange said:

Yeah, I know, but a girl can dream. The cast is very talented, and the writing was top notch imo. It would be a real F-you! to ABC is the sitcom they cancelled was one if their only to get any Emmy's love. 

I feel the same way!  I know Emmy usually ignores all of the non-cable/internet shows, but TKAA really deserves the recognition and I would love it if they end up with some award show love.  I think the pilot was nominated for a writers guild award, if I'm not mistaken.  This show has a lot of passionate fans.  I bet a lot of Hollywood peeps can relate to Timmy's youthful longing to break into show business.  It may be a long shot, but you never know.

I can't believe the horrible Single Parents got renewed.  Bless This Mess is pretty bad too.  I feel confident they are both going to tank next year, even more than they already have.  I hope ABC/Disney and whoever is responsible for renewing those and cancelling TKAA face harsh consequences.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, UYI said:

I saw in one of the articles about the cancellation that the ratings among those in the 18-49 demographic went back and forth between being really strong and really weak--although IIRC, they had just recently picked back UP. And then it still gets cancelled anyway.

Is it a case of the biggest numbers coming from "older" members of the audience, and therefore in ABC's eyes the "wrong" audience (despite the fact that these are the people with the most cash to spend in regards to advertisers)? I mean, it's certainly happened. CBS made this very complaint when they cancelled Million Dollar Password, and that was in 2008. Yes, really. They got good ratings, but the audience was too old in their eyes, so naturally they had to axe it! Whatever.

FWIW, I'm 30, and therefore in the so-called "right" demographic for this show, and I loved watching it every week. 🙂 
 

As a member of the "older" audience that remembers 1972 (I was 13 going on 14), I know all too well how that dumb outdated logic about advertising and age brackets has ruined a lot of great TV.  I don't think this was as much the case decades ago, which is why we had "Murder She Wrote" and "The Golden Girls".  But a show like TKAA had something for everyone.  The cast was made up of mostly young people after all.  And young people love nostalgia from an era before they were born.  Take "Happy Days" for example.  My generation LOVED it and it was set in the 50's before we were even born.  More recently, there was "Mad Men".

26 minutes ago, AnnaRose said:

I wonder if that is why somebody at ABC kept f-ckin around with the TKAA schedule... like when they pulled TKAA during May Sweeps to show a repeat of the terrible Bless This Mess (which must have been the favorite because it got renewed even though it shouldn't have)... or when they removed it from the schedule listings so enough people thought it wasn't on - probably enough to drop the demo rating a critical point right before cancellation decisions were made.

That's an interesting theory and I don't doubt it could have some truth to it.  I had that feeling this season with a new show on CBS - "God Friended Me".  It was always getting pre-empted for everything under the sun - every award show, you name it.  Plus it aired on Sunday after sports so there was sometimes a game delay.  It got ridiculous and I wondered if the network just didn't care about the show.  I saw the ratings go up and down, but they were always strong anyway, so the show got renewed in spite of the scheduling.

[Yeah No]

Speaking of "The Middle", I remember that was in danger of being canceled after its first season but someone wise at the network thought they'd give it another season to see if the ratings came up and it did slowly gain in popularity and eventually became a sleeper hit.  I think it was also changed to a better time slot which also helped.  Some shows take time to catch on and I think that this show was like "The Middle" that way.  Too bad TPTB right now do not have that same wisdom.

Edited May 12, 2019 by Yeah No

[Manhands]

I am sooooo bummed out!! This was one of the only shows on network television that I looked forward to watching. I cannot believe these idiots from ABC can’t tell what’s funny!!! Please please sign the petition started by Mark Hamill. May the force be with us!! 

[Snow Apple]

5 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Speaking of "The Middle", I remember that was in danger of being canceled after its first season but someone wise at the network thought they'd give it another season to see if the ratings came up and it did slowly gain in popularity and eventually became a sleeper hit.  I think it was also changed to a better time slot which also helped.  Some shows take time to catch on and I think that this show was like "The Middle" that way.  Too bad TPTB right now do not have that same wisdom.

Same with Cheers. It was in last place during the first season. It caught on during summer reruns and look what it became.

I hate how things work these days. If you're not a phenomenon right away, it's canceled.  And the backstage politics even for decent ratings gives me a headache.

[Thumper]

15 hours ago, Yeah No said:

You don't have to "do Twitter" to sign the petition.  The link I provided above is to a separate petition website that anyone can access.  I don't "do Twitter" either and I signed it.

Thanks!  Done.

[Angeltoes]

I left a message for the actors on the show's FB page and told them this cancellation was not a reflection of their talent.  And that it was the only show I looked forward to every week.  Caleb Foote, who played Eddie, replied by thanking me which was pretty cool.

I also left a polite message on the ABC website (although I did blatantly tell them they'd lost their minds) and said they'd made a huge mistake on this one.

[SosaLola]

But what's wrong if the audience are adults? What should matter is that the show has audience, right? 

[OnceAgain]

38 minutes ago, SosaLola said:

But what's wrong if the audience are adults? What should matter is that the show has audience, right? 

I agree but advertisers only pay based on the 18-49 demo and really the 18-34 is the most valuable. It is horse sh!& but the older you are the less valuable a viewer you are to the network. Seems really dumb, but it is what they base it on because if ad $$.

I am really going to miss this show. I really will. I am still so mad. 

[LakeGal]

I signed the petition.  It probably won't help.  But at least I felt like I was trying.  

[bad things are bad]

This show and Speechless...both shows I loved and were different and quirky. Both gone too soon. 

Modern Family should have died years ago and yet. 

What fresh hell will next year bring? Got to appeal to the youths, who don't watch as much TV as they used to. 

[Ilovepie]

Aw man, I just saw this! I am seriously bummed - this was the only new show I watched this year, and honestly, it leaving is just another nail in the coffin for network tv for me. I mostly watch Netflix and Hulu now. On network tv, anything that is not a doctor/lawyer/cop show is already at risk right out the gate, and I just don't like those type of shows. Besides reality shows, I think I'm down to B99 and Orville for network shows I watch. Thanks for nothing ABC.........

[Yeah No]

14 hours ago, OnceAgain said:

I agree but advertisers only pay based on the 18-49 demo and really the 18-34 is the most valuable. It is horse sh!& but the older you are the less valuable a viewer you are to the network. Seems really dumb, but it is what they base it on because if ad $$.

I am really going to miss this show. I really will. I am still so mad. 

The logic is that younger viewers will live longer so if ads can make loyal customers out of them they have longer to live to spend on the product.  Older people supposedly are set in their ways and not as influenced by ads.  Sounds a little bogus to me to be honest.  Products are constantly changing and brand loyalty only works for certain things.  Plus as an older person myself I can say that this doesn't really apply to today's older people.  We are more open to new products than our parents' generation by far.  We have to be because things change more rapidly now.

I wonder if the execs. realize that the younger generation doesn't watch TV as much as the older generation so they are competing for a much smaller audience to begin with, which makes the above logic even weaker.  So by following this so-called "wisdom" they are actually wasting their money and putting themselves out of business.

[libgirl2]

12 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

The logic is that younger viewers will live longer so if ads can make loyal customers out of them they have longer to live to spend on the product.  Older people supposedly are set in their ways and not as influenced by ads.  Sounds a little bogus to me to be honest.  Products are constantly changing and brand loyalty only works for certain things.  Plus as an older person myself I can say that this doesn't really apply to today's older people.  We are more open to new products than our parents' generation by far.  We have to be because things change more rapidly now.

I wonder if the execs. realize that the younger generation doesn't watch TV as much as the older generation so they are competing for a much smaller audience to begin with, which makes the above logic even weaker.  So by following this so-called "wisdom" they are actually wasting their money and putting themselves out of business.

My son is 25 and never watches TV. 

[71dude]

Maybe it can still be saved by the new Disney streaming service. I would pay for that if that happened.

[Ilovepie]

1 hour ago, libgirl2 said:

My son is 25 and never watches TV.  

Yep, and neither did I when I was that age (I'm 46 fwiw). Even worse, my kids are 14 and 10 and all they watch is YouTube. They care even less about any shows on tv. My sister is 30, and most of her friends just have streaming with Netflix or Hulu, although if you can wait a day, you can still watch ABC, NBC and Fox on Hulu, but I don't know if the networks care about that?

The really stupid thing is that older people generally have more disposable income. I've never understood the logic that younger is better to be honest...

[rhys]

43 minutes ago, Ilovepie said:

43 minutes ago, Ilovepie said:

The really stupid thing is that older people generally have more disposable income. I've never understood the logic that younger is better to be honest...

Sing it. Plus we may have more time than some people to watch tv. I know I do anyway, but I realize I can't speak for others. I'm just not driving kids to ballet & soccer & violin. 

[Phebemarie]

I hope everyone will tune in tonight on the slight chance a big audience will cause the powers that be at ABC to reconsider.  The petition has almost 4,000 signatures, and a demonstration is planned outside the ABC's upfronts with a few of the actors chiming in to say they'll attend.  If you're on Twitter, plan to tweet out some love for "Kids" tonight as well.  

It can't hurt.

[CountryGirl]

I am so bummed about this.

[bad things are bad]

Quote

Same with Cheers. It was in last place during the first season

Seinfeld too. It was a dog in the beginning. 

And American Housewife, which I find annoying and formulaic, lives on.

Oh well. I loved Community too, and Freaks and Geeks, and any number of quirky low-audience high-cult-following shows. 

[LucyEth]

On 5/13/2019 at 1:45 PM, bad things are bad said:

Modern Family should have died years ago and yet. 

Right, some shows go on for years just based on their reputation.  Modern Family has not been good in years.

[biakbiak]

14 minutes ago, LucyEth said:

Right, some shows go on for years just based on their reputation.  Modern Family has not been good in years.

Be that as it may it consistently had 2 million more viewers than TKAA and almost double in the demo.

[AnnaRose]

2 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Be that as it may it consistently had 2 million more viewers than TKAA and almost double in the demo.

Modern Family had much higher ratings back when everything was higher.  Now it's only a few demo points higher than TKAA, as it should be since by 9:00pm people in the favored age group probably have their kids in bed and can watch live. 

Modern Family has been so terrible for years, but it gets by because so many of its viewers watch either out of habit or because they feel like they should just finish watching until the end since they invested so much time. (That was me - I was going to hang in until the end, but then they added another season and I just couldn't take it anymore.  It almost never made me even smile let alone laugh.) 

Modern Family getting another season is even more frustrating in light of ABC cancelling TKAA - the funniest show they've had in many years.

[biakbiak]

27 minutes ago, AnnaRose said:

Modern Family getting another season is even more frustrating in light of ABC cancelling TKAA - the funniest show they've had in many years.

Modern Family more than pays for itself with its lucrative syndication deal so I find comparing the two in relation to what got renewed disingenuous. TKAA’s competition for renewal was with Single Parents, Bless This Mess and the pilots they picked up not Modern Family.

[AnnaRose]

2 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Modern Family more than pays for itself with its lucrative syndication deal so I find comparing the two in relation to what got renewed disingenuous. TKAA’s competition for renewal was with Single Parents, Bless This Mess and the pilots they picked up not Modern Family.

I wasn't trying to be disingenuous.  Modern Family was renewed for next year a long time ago and I know it was not competing with TKAA for renewal.  However, that doesn't lessen my annoyance that Modern Family is on for another season and TKAA is not.   (And I was just trying to point out that there isn't a huge difference between their ratings.  Next year MF's ratings will likely be even worse.  I can't see a lot of MF's unhappy viewers coming back after the awfulness of this past season.)

[msrachelj]

angry and sad. this and speechless. two of the best comedy sitcoms on. like i said in another section, quality programing has a hard time staying alive. people want 2 1/2 men and shit like that. i'm very disappointed. 

[2727]

I started a rewatch today and the first few episodes are even funnier now that I know all the family and their individual quirks. So many great lines.

Recommended!

[libgirl2]

6 hours ago, msrachelj said:

angry and sad. this and speechless. two of the best comedy sitcoms on. like i said in another section, quality programing has a hard time staying alive. people want 2 1/2 men and shit like that. i'm very disappointed. 

Look how long Two Broke Girls was on. Six seasons! That show was painful to watch! 

[Cowgirl]

Noooooooooo!!!!  I didn't get the news until today.  How extremely disappointing.  And ugh, high school with money?!  NOT a good business model!  Stupid ABC.  Thanks for taking away my happy spot in the work week!!

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

7 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

Look how long Two Broke Girls was on. Six seasons! That show was painful to watch! 

I sporadically would catch parts of  it in syndication, maybe saw bits of 10 episodes? It seemed kinda trashy and I guess that's all it takes anymore to bring in enough idiot guys to have kept it going so long.

[Yeah No]

I found this on the Twitter page to save the show.  6 shows with LOWER ratings last week than "Kids" on ABC were renewed!  Crazy! (https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaveTheKidsAreAlright?src=hash&lang=en)

[Yeah No]

Here's a call-in line where you can express your desire to see the show return:

[Ilovepie]

Talk about adding insult to injury! I started the season watching Single Parents and TKAA and within a month I had dropped Single Parents. I cannot believe that show got renewed - it. is. not. funny. AT ALL. Unbelievable. It really sucks that it gets a second season but TKAA does not.

[WallStreetDuchess]

Ugh... This was one of the very few shows I watch on network television. I can't believe some of the other shows (such as Schooled) got another season and this didn't.

Off to sign the petition...

[silverspoons]

On 5/16/2019 at 12:42 PM, Ilovepie said:

Talk about adding insult to injury! I started the season watching Single Parents and TKAA and within a month I had dropped Single Parents. I cannot believe that show got renewed - it. is. not. funny. AT ALL. Unbelievable. It really sucks that it gets a second season but TKAA does not.

We watch TV as a family every night, and I have a variety of ages, but 4 in the 18-34 demo most nights that is so desired. Everyone liked the kids are alright , my teens, my mother but single parents was disliked. A few of us like Brad Garett 's and his twins' story but the rest was hard to watch. Superstore used to be a favorite among all of us, but this year went downhill. It seems like after hearing so many sitcoms we liked, Kids are alright , Cool kids. Superior Donuts, LA to Vegas, our family does not want to watch any new ones and start to like them. Last year I had to hide that LA to Vegas was cancelled because it was the favorite, now this year only my husband knows he kids are alright is cancelled. I have written ABC but if it stays cancelled I'll break the news next fall. 

[LakeGal]

ABC is considering uncancelling Whiskey Cavalier.  I really wish they would consider the same for this show.  

[biakbiak]

3 minutes ago, LakeGal said:

ABC is considering uncancelling Whiskey Cavalier.  I really wish they would consider the same for this show.  

Unfortunately WC has international deals that TKAA doesn’t have in its favor.

[festivus]

If Mark Hamill can't get it uncancelled then I don't have much hope, unfortunately.

[biakbiak]

53 minutes ago, festivus said:

If Mark Hamill can't get it uncancelled then I don't have much hope, unfortunately.

Mark alone couldn’t get it done I guess the rest of the Guardians of the 99 weren’t up for it.

[MartyMart]

Maybe there is hope after all. Here's in article published May 22 in Forbes by a respected TV critic:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcberman1/2019/05/22/fan-alert-save-the-kids-are-alright/#75284d9143ac

Edited May 24, 2019 by MartyMart

[libgirl2]

5 hours ago, MartyMart said:

Maybe there is hope after all. Here's in article published May 22 in Forbes by a respected TV critic:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcberman1/2019/05/22/fan-alert-save-the-kids-are-alright/#75284d9143ac

Good article. I agree, dump Fresh Off the Boat. Constance Wu doesn't want to do it and I'm sure her feelings are going to make it uncomfortable on the set. Its been on long enough. I would watch Kids on Friday nights. I'm old and I'm home! 

Edited May 24, 2019 by libgirl2

[biakbiak]

I have never read that critic but from the comparison to Cagney and Lacey and other points in the article he seems pretty out of touch with how tv currently work. FOB has over a 100 episodes so has a good package for syndication which means it’s making money for them in ways that TKAA is still several seasons away from accomplishing.

[clyo22]

Wow! I'm really surprised! I assumed this was going to be my new "the middle". It was so undeniably funny I assumed it had good rating and would most certainly be renewed. Sad.

[HelenCrump]

My favorite TV news site, TVLine, wrote a really nice article advocating for the show:  https://tvline.com/2019/05/28/the-kids-are-alright-abc-should-reverse-cancellation-renew-season-2/

[Jnl2483]

Please come join us on fb, Twitter and letter writing campaign to save the show:

FB-The Kids are Alright TV Show.          FB- The Kids are Alright TV Viewers

[Chaos Theory]

On 5/13/2019 at 1:19 AM, SosaLola said:

But what's wrong if the audience are adults? What should matter is that the show has audience, right? 

Not even a little.  My best example of this is a tv show called Blade based off the movies.   It was on a channel that at the time was being directed toward middle aged men.   However this particular show did well with female audiences.   Of course the show was cancelled.  

There is also the infamous Firefly.  A show that should have been Joss Whedons next big hit after Buffy/Angel but the network execs moved it to every time slot imaginable so they canceled it after a season.  

TKAA was a great show but it had a horrible time slot.  I often forgot to watch it and picked it up later on Hulu.   I have no idea why i didn’t just put it on my DVR.

Edited June 24, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[bad things are bad]

On 6/19/2019 at 12:01 PM, Chaos Theory said:

On 5/13/2019 at 1:19 AM, SosaLola said:

But what's wrong if the audience are adults? What should matter is that the show has audience, right? 

Not even a little

There used to be a women's magazine called More that was aimed at the 40+ year old. You'd think it would be a desirable demographic--kids gone for many, peak earning power, etc. Had decent circulation but was discontinued all the same because mature women apparently are not worth bothering advertisers about.

'The problem, a former More editor-in-chief says, is the median age of the magazine’s readers — 54.

“The problem was advertisers who wanted to sell products to this demographic — whether skin care or the high-end fashions the readers could afford,” The New York Post quoted former More editor Myrna Blyth as saying. “They would only put their ads in magazines for far younger readers who don’t buy or can’t afford their products.”'

TKAA unfortunately seems to appeal to the same demo--gotta stick to brainless formulaic dreck that is supposed to appeal to the youths (that don't watch TV anyway)  

[AuntiePam]

On 5/10/2019 at 9:03 PM, SoMuchTV said:

How many episodes are left, anyway? I'm hoping that, like Speechless, they have a season finale that's a worthy series finale. And 20 years from now, it'll be the Freaks and Geeks of its time - "hey - look at all these big stars who got their start in that show!"  As we stream it in our self-driving hovercars.

I came in to say the same thing.  It's one of the few shows that my husband and I both liked.  I hope there'll be a DVD.

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

On ‎6‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 11:01 AM, Chaos Theory said:

Not even a little.  My best example of this is a tv show called Blade based off the movies.   It was on a channel that at the time was being directed toward middle aged men.   However this particular show did well with female audiences.   Of course the show was cancelled.  

There is also the infamous Firefly.  A show that should have been Joss Whedons next big hit after Buffy/Angel but the network execs moved it to every time slot imaginable so they canceled it after a season.  

TKAA was a great show but it had a horrible time slot.  I often forgot to watch it and picked it up later on Hulu.   I have no idea why i didn’t just put it on my DVR.

+1000 !  Firefly was beyond great, network execs should have been drawn and quartered.