In VideoAge’s December issue we took a look at the fall U.S. TV season’s hits and misses. But because of an early deadline, we missed some more recent cancelations. So, we decided to take to use our up-to-the-minute Watercooler feature to give an update on what’s happening now.
Before we get into the current state of U.S. network TV, let’s quickly look to the future. Just this week it was announced that Julian Fellowes, creator of Britain’s Downton Abbey, has signed a deal with NBC to create a Gilded Age drama based in late 19th Century New York City. The series is likely to premiere in fall 2013.
But now, back to 2012…. Five new fall series that were rumored to be on shaky ground have, in fact, recently been canceled. The most recent axing happened to CBS’s Emily Owens, MD (which airs on the CW). The series, which stars Mamie Gummer, daughter of Meryl Streep, as a young doctor will complete its 13-episode run on the CW, but will not go on to season two.
Another doctor-focused series, Sony’s Mob Doctor (which airs on Fox) is (likely) canceled. Though Fox hasn’t officially announced its cancellation, the last four episodes of the series will run up until the beginning of January.
Another axed series, Sony Pictures TV International’s Last Resort, which aired on ABC and follows the crew of a ballistic missile submarine, failed to follow through after a promising start. The network will air all 13 episodes that were filmed.
Another ABC show, Warner Bros.’s 666 Park Avenue has been canceled, but all 13 episodes will also be aired. The show, which revolves around a young couple that moves into a haunted building in New York City, also lost a significant number of viewers each week.
CBS’s only new comedy of the season, Partners, has also been canceled, and no new episodes will be shown. Will & Grace creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan created the series, which they based on their real-life friendship and working relationship.
The five join fellow fall TV casualties Animal Practice (from NBC Universal for NBC) and Made in Jersey (Sony for CBS).
And just so you don’t call us negative… some good news, too. It was just announced that five more episodes of freshman series Malibu Country (distributed by Disney and running on ABC) have been ordered. Other new fall shows that have received full-season orders include NBC Universal comedy Go On (airing on NBC), Twentieth Century Fox comedy The New Normal (airing on Fox), NBC Universal comedy The Mindy Project (Fox), Warner Bros. drama Revolution (NBC), Lionsgate drama Nashville (ABC) and Disney sitcom The Neighbors (ABC).
Though it’s not new season-focused, we couldn’t talk about U.S. network TV without mentioning one current controversy. It seems Two and a Half Men (which premiered in 2003) is cursed (or, perhaps accurately blessed in the eyes of born agains). After the very public firing of Charlie Sheen in 2011, Angus T. Jones (the “half,” who started on the show as a little boy), conducted an interview with an evangelical youth minister where he called the show “filth” and begged people to stop watching it. Unsurprisingly reports say Jones will not return after this season.
