posted on May 18, 2017 by candacehavens

Dear Networks: You Are Mean

By Candace Havens

This is the week the networks go to New York and announce their slate of programming to advertisers and the press. It’s also the week most fans find out their shows are canceled. It sucks. You’ve invested time, and possibly your heart, into a show that hasn’t made it. If you really loved it, there’s a good chance you want to scream or punch someone.

I’ll be posting the changes and updates for the upcoming network schedules on my author page (https://www.facebook.com/candacehavensbooks) so you can see what’s on the way and that sort of thing, but I thought I might talk about some of my favorite shows through the years that have been cancelled and I’d love to hear about yours.

The biggest one that got me this year was the cancellation of “The Blacklist: Redemption.” I loved that show. It took a few episodes for them to find their way, but it was the relationships that made that one sing. Alas, NBC has canceled it. They kept “The Blacklist,” which, even though I adore me some James Spader, I feel has already run its course. And I’m happy about another show that was on the bubble but survived, and that’s “Blindspot.” I know that show is crazy, but I breathed a sigh of relief. It’s on Fridays this next season, so it probably doesn’t have long.

I’m reaching back in time for these two. “Pushing Daisies” (2 seasons) and “Eli Stone” (2 seasons). I feel like both of these were shows before their time. They were so innovative and clever. The same with Joss Whedon’s “Firefly” (1 season) Look at how that one has lived such a long life thanks to streaming and DVDs. It has legions of Browncoat fans. Fox messed up big time with that show, which was most definitely before its time. The same thing happened with Whedon’s “Dollhouse.” That one took a bit more time to figure out where it was going, but it was a fun show. Speaking of Fox canceling shows that were just finding their groove, I felt the same way about “Almost Human” and “Terra Nova.” We were just starting to see where those shows were going when they were canceled.

Some of my other faves that didn’t make it past the first or second season include: the original “Twin Peaks,” “Reaper,” “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” “Dead Like Me,” “Carnivale,” “Freaks and Geeks,” “Profit,” “My So Called Life,” “Wonderfalls,” “Bunheads,” and “Brimstone” to name a few.

I want to hear about some of your favorites that might have met the ax a little too soon.

 

Candace Havens

Candace Havens

Bestselling author Candace Havens has written multiple novels for Berkley, Entangled and Harlequin. Her books have received nominations for the RITA's, Holt Medallion and Write Touch Reader Awards. She is the author of the biography Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy and a contributor to several anthologies. She is also one of the nation's leading entertainment journalists and has interviewed countless celebrities including Tom Hanks, Nicolas Cage, Tom Cruise, George Clooney and many more. Her entertainment columns can be read in more than 600 newspapers across the country. And she is the Editorial Director for the Covet, Edge and Select lines at Entangled Publishing. Candace also runs a free online writing workshop for more than 2200 writers, and teaches comprehensive writing class. She does film reviews with the Hawkeye & Dorsey on 96.3, and is a former President of the Television Critics Association.

http://www.candacehavens.com

5 thoughts on “Dear Networks: You Are Mean”

  1. Marnie McMahon says:

    I was ver disappointed with the cancellation of Almost Human. Going back even further …thanks to a writers strike Moonlight. I just do not think these networks know their viewers.

    P.S. Browncoats forever

  2. I just want to say thanks to Writerspace for letting me hang out today.

  3. Meredith says:

    I really loved “Miracles” back in 2003, and felt like it was finally a worthy successor to X-Files. But the network constantly pre-emptied it for other things and moved it around, so its ratings tanked. 🙁
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracles_(TV_series)

    1. Meredith says:

      * pre-empted. Thanks, auto-correct.

  4. Greta Gunselman says:

    Stalker and Women’s Murder Club, both on ABC. They have a habit of ditching anything not reality-based or made by Shonda Rhimes…and I’m a fan of Grey’s Anatomy and How to Get Away with Murder.

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