“The Kids Are Alright” star Michael Cudlitz does not like ABC President Karey Burke’s explanation for why the show was canceled back in May.
“Seriously, [ABC], Just say ‘no comment,’” Cudlitz tweeted Monday, in response to Burke’s assertion to TV critics that it was canceled because “there did not seem to be a strong enough fanbase.”
“This is just rude,” Cudlitz continued. “I apologize to the [Kids Are Alright] fandom on behalf of ABC. Smfh.”
ABC canceled the series after just one season in May, leaving fans to mourn the loss in the comments on creator Tim Doyle’s tweet saying the show “is dead.”
Burke tried to set the record straight Monday, telling critics, “It was a good show. I liked the show, personally,” during her executive session at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour.
“It was not that it didn’t fit my personal vision for the network. It was that we really looked at it every which way to Sunday from a ratings perspective, and we just did not see enough upside,” she continued. “And we looked at many measures. We looked at multiplatform viewing. We looked at social media sentiment, and there did not seem to be a strong enough fan base at the time. And these things always come down to business decisions, and this was a tough, tough business decision that was made at the time.”
Inspired by Doyle’s own childhood, the 1970s-set “The Kids Are Alright” starred Cudlitz and Mary McCormack as the heads of a large Irish-Catholic family with eight boys.
Seriously, @abc. Just say “no comment”. This is just rude. I apologize to the @TheKidsABC fandom on behalf of @abc. Smfh. https://t.co/qJoRzJanzE
— Michael Cudlitz (@Cudlitz) August 6, 2019