CANCELLATION ALERT: Brothers & Sisters, V, Detroit 1-8-7, No Ordinary Family, Off the Map, Mr. Sunshine, Better With You

ABC cleaned house in preparation of the Upfronts with cancellations of many series including many freshman shows.

Starting with the veteran shows, ABC cancelled family drama Brothers & Sisters after five seasons and 109 episodes. The show aired after Desperate Housewives at 10pm on Sundays throughout its run. It had been rumored to be getting a shortened final season next year but that did not happen with so many new dramas picked up. Brothers & Sisters showed significant regression this season. After garnering over 10 million viewers for each of its first four years, it averaged 7.7 million viewers and a 2.2 in the demo. I did not watch the show but it apparently suffered creatively this season as well so it was probably time for this show to end.

After two seasons, ABC cancelled the sci-fi remake V. The show had a powerful debut in November 2009 but struggled airing after Lost last spring. It returned this January on Tuesday nights and was remarkably consistent but still very low. It also ended on a cliffhanger which always upsets fans. ABC needed to overhaul Tuesday night completely and has been going very female-skewing with its pickups so it's not surprising that V did not fit into the picture. This season, it averaged 5.5 million viewers and a 1.9 in the demo.

There were many freshman cancelled including cop drama Detroit 1-8-7. The show had a loyal audience but it never fit airing out of Dancing with the Stars results and limped along for an 18 episode run. While many believed it improved creatively, it could never recapture the ratings magic that NYPD Blue had in the same timeslot. This was my favorite new show of the season so I'm sad to see it go but obviously the ratings don't justify a renewal. In its regular timeslot, it averaged 6.8 million viewers and a low 1.5 in the demo.

Another freshman drama cancelled was No Ordinary Family. The show had the best debut of any new show on ABC last fall but dropped big after that. Like Detroit, it limped along to the finish line. ABC burned an episode off on Saturday too which is never a good sign. It was one of the more hyped shows on ABC over the summer and was a hot pilot last year but it never quite found its rhythm or audience. In its regular timeslot, it averaged 6.6 million viewers and a 1.9 in the demo.

Yet another cancelled freshman drama was midseason entry Off the Map. The exotic medical drama played like Grey's Anatomy in South America. It was a hyped premiere back in January but had a soft debut and slipped badly from there. It was yet another failed attempt at a drama on Wednesdays at 10pm for ABC which has now shifted to comedy in the 10pm hour and may continue that plan next fall. Off the Map averaged 5.0 million viewers and a 1.7 in the demo.

ABC also axed two freshman comedies starting with failed midseason entry Mr. Sunshine. ABC won a competitive battle to land Matthew Perry's return to TV comedy but things did not pan out as planned as Mr. Sunshine was retooled following mild testing last spring and then premiered to mediocre reviews despite a great cast. It had a solid premiere airing out of Modern Family but fell apart when it had to follow Family repeats. I liked this show but I didn't love it. It never really found its voice. It averaged 6.0 million viewers and a 2.2 in the demo but even those numbers are skewed by it's strong debut of 10+ million viewers and a 3.7 demo. The show still has four episodes in the can and it remains to be seen if ABC will air those episodes this summer.

Finally, ABC axed freshman comedy Better With You after it aired for a full season. It always felt a little out of place as a multicamera comedy in a block of single camera comedies. It got off to a fair start and was steady enough in the fall but things fell apart this spring when it had to air against American Idol. It had a decent one time showing on a Monday after Dancing with the Stars and perked up for its season finale so some thought it may squeak out a renewal but that didn't happen. The show was decent but not great and was more just something to watch between The Middle and Modern Family. It may have gotten a renewal if ABC decided not to renew Happy Endings. In its regular timeslot, Better With You averaged 6.5 million viewers and a 2.0 in the demo.

These cancellations mean the only freshman renewals were Body of Proof and Happy Endings. It was not a good year for new shows on the broadcast networks as NBC and FOX had just two renewals as well (NBC's two includes The Voice which has not been officially renewed but will be).