Few shows earn a long run. Fewer still remain consistently awesome throughout that run.
It’s difficult to say which is more painful for fans: a fantastic show cancelled early in its run or a once amazing series that devolved into something far less compelling. If the enduring cries of “BRING BACK FIREFLY” are any indication, it’s the former. When a show is canceled before it has the chance to outstay its welcome and fade into I don’t even know why I’m still watching territory, everything becomes a game of what could’ve been. Just as when a person dies young, we are left asking about what they could have accomplished, what joys they could have brought to the world, why them when TWO AND A HALF MEN is still on the air. (please do not blacklist me, Chuck Lorre) I’ve seen many a show that I love get axed. Interestingly, most of the recent ones have been ABC comedies: HAPPY ENDINGS, DON’T TRUST THE B, SUBURGATORY, and (most tragically) TROPHY WIFE. Just this past fall, I lost another one: SELFIE. Sometimes it feels like networks draw names out of a hat to figure out what stays and what goes, but that is never the case. The writing is always on the wall. Cancellations do not happen in a vacuum. I knew every single one of those shows would be canceled sooner rather than later. With SELFIE, I could tell from the pilot that it was not long for my TV screen, especially after they re-worked said pilot in a way that took all the bite out of it. I was actually shocked when the first three received second season orders. Knowing it’s coming doesn’t make it much easier to accept, but tempering expectations can make it hurt less when the inevitable article shows up on Deadline. And then there’s the funereal deletion from the DVR. That’s when it really hits you.
Wednesday, February 4th brings the premiere of FRESH OFF THE BOAT, yet another proudly quirky ABC sitcom. Sadly, I fully expect it to end after season one, if it’s even allowed to air all the episodes. #RIPSELFIE #RIPDONTTRUSTTHEB Like DTTB, FRESH OFF THE BOAT is another Nahnatchka Kahn series, so that’s already going to be tough to overcome. If Kyle Killen’s track record has taught us anything, having a talented writer behind a smart show doesn’t mean, well, anything. FOTB has the added pressure of fitting into ABC’s diversity initiative. Initially slated as part of the Wednesday Family Comedy Block ™, ABC gave an early vote of no confidence by simply premiering FOTB on Wednesdays, then immediately shifting it to the double-episode burnoff on Tuesdays. On Wednesday, the new series would undoubtedly have been expected to measure up to fellow newbie BLACK-ISH, the breakout comedy of the year. Premiering between two successful comedies in the Wednesday night block might boost FOTB’s ratings and sampling, but ABC appears to have decided the new show isn’t worth the continued disturbing of the delicate balance in their finally successful Wednesday night lineup.
What about CRISTELA, this season’s Latin-American entry? That show was shoved to Fridays from the start, where expectations are lower. CRISTELA has been doing OK in its timeslot, pairing well with fellow multi-cam family sitcom, LAST MAN STANDING but not making waves like network darling, BLACK-ISH. To ABC’s credit, pairing FOTB with a stridently traditional multi-cam show would be a disservice to the quirky single-cam series.
Now ABC has a problem. BLACK-ISH follows a similar formula as the other Wednesday Family Comedy Block ™ series. CRISTELA fits into the multi-cam mini-block on Fridays. Meanwhile, FOTB doesn’t quite have a place anywhere on ABC’s schedule, and somehow they’re only just realizing that. Sure, it’s a family comedy, but it also has Kahn’s stamp all over the (absolutely hilarious) pilot, and she’s not the type to let network notes dim her light on the rest of the episodes.
Instead, FRESH OFF THE BOAT has been shunted to Tuesday nights. I say shunted because Tuesday has become a veritable graveyard of failed sitcoms for ABC, and that’s not even accounting for their endless struggles in the 10pm slot. Apart from SUBURGATORY, all of the aforementioned gone-too-soon comedies finished their runs as Tuesday shows. The only recent success ABC has had on Tuesday, THE GOLDBERGS, was granted a promotion to Wednesdays. That was the right move on ABC’s part. It was the best way to support a fledgling series with oodles of potential and a formula that meshed with the rest of the Wednesday Family Comedy Block ™. It’s also the most important writing on the wall regarding FOTB’s impending Tuesday premiere. The new series has to succeed completely on its own, without any lead-in, without the assistance of other comedies on the same night, without, it seems, even ABC’s support.
So what happens if it can’t? What happens if, like all the other wonderfully weird (mostly Tuesday) comedies that came before it on ABC, FRESH OFF THE BOAT appeals to a small but ardent fanbase that simply doesn’t have the numbers to take on the juggernaut that is NCIS?
It gets canceled. That’s what happens. Maybe it’s better that way. Today, people have discovered FREAKS AND GEEKS thanks to DVD box sets or DON’T TRUST THE B thanks to Netflix. Fans flood comments sections with pleas to bring these and other series back. Because they didn’t run for years and years, these shows remain consistently awesome. They burned half as long but twice as bright, and sometimes it is better to burn brightest for just a little while than burn out when no one notices your light anymore. (‘sup GLEE)
Still, #BRINGBACKTROPHYWIFE
UPDATE: FRESH OF THE BOAT has been renewed for a second season! And it has been promoted to a fall premiere. I'm personally not sure about pairing it with THE MUPPETS, but (my own tastes aside) that does feel like a vote of confidence on ABC's part. The Muppets are a proven brand, and as the 8pm anchor, it is clear that ABC hopes the curious/nostalgic Muppets viewers will leave their TVs on and fall for the quirky 90s-set FRESH OFF THE BOAT.
On a sadder note, CRISTELA was canceled due to low ratings and a lack of buzz. It was a cute and fun show that unfortunately never popped. You should check out when you need a 22 minute break from your dark and twisty dramas.
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