Yep, it’s that time of year… the time where fans of certain TV series have to stress out over whether those shows are going to be renewed. As we head towards May, and the network decisions on their fall schedule, many “on the bubble” series will see their status change, including some tough cancellations and some surprising renewals.
Below, we present our annual Endangered Series list, looking at the shows whose fates hang in the balance. On subsequent pages, you’ll find the series that are already definitively known to be ending -- whether via an abrupt cancellation or a long-planned finale -- plus the shows that are sure to be back next season.
Note that our focus here is specifically on broadcast network series, so cable shows (which don't operate under the same September-May TV season cycle) are not included.
Beauty and the Beast
It’s a tale as old as time… CW puts a show behind The Vampire Diaries and it fails to hold on to any notable percentage of its hit lead in. The Secret Circle only lasted one season last year, and Beauty is tracking lower. So things don’t look great…
Body of Proof
This ABC series got a last minute renewal in 2012, but its recent Season 3 debut tied with its lowest ratings yet (following some retooling and new cast member additions), which isn’t a promising sign for its future.
The Carrie Diaries
The CW has failed to attract nearly the amount of attention they no doubt hoped for with this Sex and the City prequel. But on a network struggling to find an audience, Carrie may have enough viewers to get a second season.
The Cleveland Show
While FOX has invested deeply in Seth MacFarlane and his animated series, The Cleveland Show may be on its way out after the current Season 4. With the long turnaround for animation, the show has notably not gone into production on any episodes past those airing in May and it seems, for the time being, we may actually drop to “only” two MacFarlane shows on Sunday nights.
Community
Ah, Community. What a tangled web we weave… Perpetually on the bubble, Community’s fate is again precarious, but by no means sealed. The delayed fourth season actually came back with better ratings than Season 3, only to plummet in subsequent weeks to record lows for the series. But NBC’s entire lineup is a huge mess right now, and Community is an established show that actually is doing just as well as most of NBC’s new comedies – which is not good for the network, but leaves hope for Community’s renewal, if NBC wants to bring back any small handful of their current comedies.
CSI: New York
In 2012, CBS said goodbye to CSI: Miami, acknowledging that, at last, the once juggernaut franchise was beginning to enter its twilight and declining in numbers. While the original CSI is expected to return, this year could be the end of the road for the New York series.
Cult
CW continues to struggle to make an impact with any of their new series, and the early numbers for their ambitious/complicated/confusing series within a series Cult haven’t been encouraging, to say the least.
Deception
NBC’s Revenge-style soapy thriller has not been able to find an audience or gain any sort of notable, passionate fandom that would make it likely to continue.
Go On
Early in the TV season, Go On looked to be NBC’s first genuine hit comedy in quite awhile, but then the numbers began to fall… and fall. And it only got worse when The Voice went on hiatus, taking away a powerhouse lead-in. On any other network, Go On would be done for sure, but NBC has so little to work with, they may give Go On -- and its big name star, Matthew Perry -- another chance in the fall.
Guys With Kids
NBC’s one new multi-camera comedy, Guys with Kids got a full season order, but that seemed a time-filler more than anything. It has no ratings and no buzz.
Happy Endings
We freaking love Happy Endings, but sadly, the show has continued to struggle to find the larger audience it so richly deserves. ABC's plan to move the show to Fridays, while continuing to air back-to-back episodes, basically amounts to a burn off, which is all very worrisome. The tiny sliver of hope comes from the kind words ABC president Paul Lee has said about the series. Could it get another season, perhaps with a reduced episode order, to be used to replace something that fails next year?
Hart of Dixie
It’s not a sure thing, but right now, Hart of Dixie is looking likely to return. On a network with few success stories, its found its niche and is the network’s highest rated show outside of their bigger-rated Wednesday and Thursday night series.
Hawaii Five-0
Only on CBS would Hawaii Five-0 be a question mark, with the ratings it pulls in. But on a network with a high threshold for success, the show hasn’t turned into the hoped for blockbuster it was intended to be, especially airing on the tail end of the successful Monday night comedy block. But ultimately, H50 will probably be back – though perhaps moving to a different timeslot?
Last Man Standing
ABC made an attempt to recapture a bit of their old TGIF mojo by putting new comedies on Friday nights for the first time in years. The results have been… nothing special. But it’s possible ABC could still see this lowbrow lineup as worth continuing, given the difficulties programming on Fridays.
Law & Order: SVU
Long gone are the days when Law & Order was a giant franchise with three series going strong. And when a show has gone on as long as SVU has, salaries are only getting more expensive. But as with so much of NBC, it comes down to what little they have to replace it. Meaning we likely could still get another season of sex crimes.
Malibu Country
See what we said for Last Man Standing!
The Mentalist
The Mentalist is probably coming back… Probably. Like Hawaii Five-0, it suffers from the “Good, but not especially great for CBS” level of ratings. But five years in, it seems likely the show will be around at least another year or so.
The Mindy Project
FOX hoped they’d created a new power duo teaming Mindy Project with New Girl, but the Mindy Kaling series has had a tougher time than expected holding onto New Girl’s audience. This could go either way, as FOX doesn’t have a deep comedy bench and may want to invest a bit more time in Mindy.
The New Normal
While Go On was even bigger, this was NBC’s other fairly strong (well, relatively) new comedy in the early fall, with the benefit of the buzzed about Ryan Murphy (Glee, American Horror Story) as a producer. But like Go On, it’s numbers have dropped dramatically since.
90210
90210’s numbers have gone incredibly low, even by The CW’s standards. The network has shown a willingness to renew long in the tooth teen soaps for one, final, truncated season (see One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl), which is probably the one chance 90210 has of returning.
The Neighbors
We’ll admit it. We thought this show wouldn’t last a month, but The Neighbors has proven us wrong and got a full season order. Will it actually get a second season though? That’s more murky, as it clearly dips down the ratings of ABC’s Wednesday night comedy lineup, while still carving out more of an audience than we anticipated.
Nikita
This show rules. More people should watch it. That being said, Nikita is always in a tough position. It’s numbers have fluctuated up and down on Friday nights this season – if they were stable on the high end, it would be coming back for sure. Still, in its favor is the fact that The CW isn’t exactly bursting at the seams with hits and Nikita fulfills a certain role by bringing in a small but (mostly) dependable audience on a tough night. What would CW put in its place that could be expected to do better? Which is why we’re hopeful Nikita, Alex, Michael and the gang will continue to kick ass in a fourth season.
Parks and Recreation
It’s difficult seeing NBC cancelling Parks and Rec at this point, unless they go for a true “wipe the slate clean” approach to their current schedule. With 30 Rock and The Office done this year, Parks and Rec will be the highest rated comedy left on NBC. That’s terrible news for NBC, given Parks’ small ratings, but optimistic news for those of us who love the show.
Rules of Engagement
Look, Rules of Engagement made it seven seasons. No matter what, it won. Perpetually kept on the bench until something new failed, CBS has used Rules as a space-filler, but it always managed to do well enough to come back. However, now that it’s passed the number of episodes needed for syndication and star Patrick Warburton is starring in a new CBS pilot, it looks like this might finally be it for the show… Probably. Maybe. I don’t know… Never rule out Rules of Engagement!
1600 Penn
NBC gave a big push to this midseason comedy, but it quickly completely collapsed, wasting what is still the best timeslot for a new comedy NBC had left – airing right after The Office.
Smash
Smash has been a sad story for NBC. It debuted with so much hype and positive reviews for the pilot, only to see the numbers rapidly dwindle and the good reviews quickly turn negative as the show progressed. Season 2’s big overhaul (including changing the showrunner and several cast members) didn’t help at all, with a ton of the Season 1 audience not coming back. It would be a shocker if it got a third season.
Suburgatory
This funny/quirky show is the latest in a long line of ABC comedies that have failed to hold on to Modern Family’s huge lead-in. We’re hoping that ABC still will see life in Suburgatory though, even as it is being moved out of its cushy timeslot this spring.
Touch
The Kiefer Sutherland series returned midseason with major plot, location and cast overhauls, but has gotten incredibly low ratings on Fridays – notably lower than Fringe was getting at the end, despite that show having lost viewers each season it was on. Touch is only in its second season, so it’s doubtful FOX will invest any more time in trying to cultivate or keep an audience that just hasn’t connected to a show about us all being connected.
Undercover Boss
Will this show be cancelled, LIKE A BOSS!? (Sorry, sorry). While CBS has used Undercover Boss to throw into random timeslots, it may not feel the series is needed any longer.
Up All Night
Oh man, this show… It’s been incredibly surreal watching NBC re-tool Up All Night more than once and then make the incredible decision to change the format of the show from single camera to multi-camera. But then the show’s creator left. And Christina Applegate left. And the episode order for the revamp dropped from five to one. And Will Arnett joined a new pilot. And it’s looking like, maybe, just maybe, NBC will finally let this one go…
Vegas
Given their high overall ratings, CBS has tough standards, and unfortunately, Vegas is not meeting them. While the series got a full season order, it’s not looking likely it will continue beyond that, which is too bad, given the show has the network branching out into something a bit different with a period piece, slightly more serialized format.
Whitney
Like so much of NBC’s schedule, this could go either way. Whitney just sort of exists, but the network might feel like they need shows to fill timeslots next season and this one is at least up and running and not as big a disaster as several other series have been for them.
Zero Hour
ABC’s continued failure to launch a new success on Thursdays at 8pm continue with Zero Hour, which had a notably low debut. The network may let its season play out there (what else are they going to program in that timeslot?) but a second season would be an incredible shock.
Continue to Page 2 for the show's we now know for certain won't be back.
Source : ign[dot]com
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