It was happy news for a lot of ABC shows last night, but the tidings aren’t so good for four of the network’s less buzzy series; not returning for the 2015-16 season are freshman drama Forever, sophomore show Resurrection, rookie comedy Cristela and returning reality series The Taste.
Out of those cancellations, only Ioan Gruffudd-led drama Forever comes as much of a surprise. With Castle aging rapidly, many believed the network saw the series, about an unaging medical examiner hunting for the secret to his own immortality, as an heir apparent. Still, viewers never really flocked to the show the way execs had likely hoped they would – it was averaging just a 1.7 rating with adults 18-49.
Cristela, built around stand-up comedienne Cristela Alonzo, also stood a fighting chance, despite its paltry 1.2 rating in the demo, mostly because of its hugely diverse cast and writing staff. Getting more non-white representation on the lineup was a priority for all the networks last year, but ABC clearly decided to go back to the drawing board given the lack of impact the series had.
Resurrection was one of just two shows to make the cut for a second season pickup last fall, but it returned with horrifically depleted ratings. After debuting the sophomore run to little fanfare, it saw its ratings cut in half from the season 1 finale by the time it concluded in January. It’s no surprise that ABC decided to lower the ax on it, particularly with writers Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas involved on other ABC series.
As for The Taste – wait, what was The Taste again? Exactly. The culinary competition pulled a terrible 1.0 rating in the key demo, getting nowhere even close to levels of the shows it was spurred by, like Fox’s Kitchen Nightmares.
Tell us, will you miss any of the canceled series? Or did ABC make the right call? Sound off below, and as per usual, feel free to leave any eulogies for Forever, Resurrection, Cristela or The Taste.