ABC Cancels Three Popular TV Shows – ABC cancels ‘Forever,’ ‘Cristela’ and ‘Resurrection’
ABC has cancelled ‘Forever’, ‘Cristela’ and the Georgia filmed drama ‘Resurrection’. ABC has renewed all other series on its current produciton line-up with the exception of ‘Last Man Standing,’ which is still in limbo.
“Forever” starred Ioan Gruffudd as Dr. Henry Morgan, a medical examiner born in 1779 who studies the dead for criminal cases, truly to solve the mystery of his own immortality. Alana de la Garza, Joel David Moore, Donnie Keshawarz, Lorraine Toussaint and Judd Hirsch also starred on ‘Forever’. The drama premiered to almost 12 million total viewers in 2014, but dipped to just under 7 million earlier this year.
‘Cristela’ also will not be returning for a second season. The comedy series was created by standup comedian Cristela Alonzo and averaging over 5 million total viewers for its first season, the premiere launched to a total audience of about 6.5 million and wrapped up with roughly 4.7 million. Despite little change in ratings, the sheer lack of viewers probably caused ABC to pull the plug.
‘Resurrection’ won’t live to see its third season. The supernatural drama explored when loved dead ones come back to life with no change in age since they died. Omar Epps (‘House M.D.’) starred, along with Frances Fisher, Matt Craven, David Kelley, Mark Hildreth, Samaire Armstrong, Landon Gimenez and Kurtwood Smith. ‘Resurrection’ filmed two seasons throughout the Georgia area and was once the most watched series on TV. However, ratings plummeted at the end of season 1 and never bounced back by season 2.
Renewed shows include ‘Castle,’ ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ ‘How to Get Away with Murder,’ ‘Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD,’ ‘Nashville,’ ‘Once Upon a Time,’ ‘Scandal,’ ‘American Crime,’ ‘Secrets and Lies’ ‘Black-ish,’ ‘Fresh Off The Boat,’ ‘The Goldbergs,’ ‘The Middle’ ‘Modern Family’ ‘Galavant’ and ‘Marvel’s Agent Carter.’
Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that many shows are evolving. For instance, ‘American Crime’ and ‘Secrets and Lies’ will feature a different cast and storyline after each season.
From Variety:
The John Ridley series, in which Timothy Hutton and Felicity Huffman starred in Season 1, was not entirely expected to be renewed for Season 2, as critical reception was stellar, but ratings were not. However, the dark, raw drama is expected to be a major player during Emmy season. Ridley has always envisioned “Crime” as an anthology, covering a new case each season.
Though positioned as an event series, Ryan Phillippe’s “Secrets and Lies” was a solid performer for ABC throughout its first run, hitting a season high this past weekend with its Sunday night finale ratings. Juliette Lewis is expected to stick with the second season, as the detective, but Phillippe whose character was cliffhangered dead, took to Twitter after the final episode to tell fans that the next story does not involve him, alluding to the inaugural cast being swapped with a new ensemble, as Season 2 will cover a new crime.
Did your favorite ABC show get cancelled? Are you surprised? Share with us your thoughts on the ABC cancellations in the comments below!
