CANCELLATION ALERT: Raising Hope

In an unsurprising move, FOX has cancelled family sitcom Raising Hope after four years and 88 episodes. The show had a couple years in a good timeslot but never managed to break out of a niche audience, then things fell apart completely this year.

Raising Hope premiered in September 2010, airing after Glee and paired with fellow newbie Running Wilde. At that time, Glee was one of the top demo draws on TV and it helped Hope develop into a solid performer even though retention was weak. In its second season, it aired after breakout new hit New Girl but still couldn't find a mass audience. Then it was called upon to lead off a comedy block in 2012 and it performed admirably considering how low the block was overall. But this year things completely fell apart on Friday with the most recent episode pulling 1.6 million viewers and a 0.5 demo. The series finale will air as a one hour event on Friday, April 4.

Raising Hope joins The X Factor as the only official cancellations by FOX but others are sure to join including Enlisted and Rake.