CANCELLATION ALERT: The Following, Backstrom

As the networks are finalizing their lists for next season, FOX has cancelled two more shows: The Following after three seasons and Backstrom after one.

The Following, which brought Kevin Bacon to a weekly series, was a big hit when it premiered in January 2013. It had big premiere numbers and was pretty strong throughout its first season. However, Bacon didn't want to do more than 15 episodes a year. When it came back the following January, it got a premiere after the NFC Championship Game but quickly dropped from there. However, it had already snagged a third season renewal. Things went majorly south this year as the show fell off the map. I watched the first two seasons. It was never a great show, just a guilty pleasure, but it lost me after awhile. This was another show like Revenge that had too limited a concept to last forever.

Also cancelled was Backstrom after 13 episodes. The drama starring Rainn Wilson had an OK debut in January with eight million viewers and a 1.9 demo, but it quickly slipped from there and spent most of the end of the season below a 1.0 demo. Its cancellation has been pretty much assumed for awhile now. These shows join Glee, Gracepoint, The Mindy Project, Mulaney, Red Band Society, and Utopia on the cancellation list for FOX.