Wednesday, May 10, 2017

CANCELLATION ALERT: Timeless, Last Man Standing

Two cancellations were handed down that are surprising to different extents.

Last Man Standing was cancelled by ABC after six seasons and 130 episodes. This show has always had tough negotiations because it comes from an outside studio and Tim Allen's salary is high. But the ratings have always tipped things in its favor and really, it should have again. The show aired on Tuesdays for a year but since Fall 2012, it has been a reliable and steady staple on Friday nights. It has had a very loyal audience and this seems wrong. I don't claim to know all about the business side of TV but we have a network that seems poised to renew Once Upon a Time and Quantico while cancelling this show. I know there are financial considerations but this is a show still capable of bringing eyeballs to the network and it did very well with little to no advertising for years. It also has done well in syndication. I wouldn't be shocked to see a network like Freeform or CMT try to pick this up, but the costs might prevent that.

NBC announced today that they have cancelled the freshman drama Timeless. It's ho-hum fall ratings and collapse in early February seemed to be a death sentence for this show but in recent weeks, we have heard that it had a legitimate chance of coming back and airing in an earlier timeslot. But that won't happen and the time travel craze seems officially short-lived with Timeless joining Time After Time on the cancellation pile and Making History very likely to join the list.

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