It’s another upfront season, and, with it, another batch of new shows have been given series orders by the networks, with hopes of robust, multi-season runs.
Of course, many of those hopes are bound to be dashed. Just as shows receive series orders, the Circle of TV Life dictates that many of those programs will perish before they’ve made it through their first season.
As the networks show off their shiny new series in hopes of pulling money from advertisers’ pockets, TheWrap looks back on last year’s crop to determine who fared best and worst with their picks.
NBC: 8 of 11 Shows Cancelled
The worst track record goes to NBC. Of the dozen new shows that the Peacock broke out last season, there’s not a lot to be proud of in the renewed-to-canceled ratio. Of the 11 shows that have premiered, eight were canceled (though, to be completely fair and technical, the Tina Fey/Robert Carlock comedy “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” was sold by NBC to Netflix), a number that accounts for every new comedy from last season’s schedule. (Aside from “Mr. Robinson,” which has not yet premiered.) The fate of freshman offering “American Odyssey” hangs in the balance — but given that show’s disappointing ratings, a second season seems highly unlikely.
Fox: 6 of 9 Shows Cancelled
Fox isn’t far behind — of the 10 new shows announced last season, nine have aired and six of those have gotten the boot — including “Hieroglyph,” which ceased production before the show even made it to air. (Like NBC, this batch comes with a caveat, in the form of “Gracepoint,” which was promoted as a “limited series,” but what are the odds the network would have made it less limited with a second season if the ratings hadn’t been dismal?) That includes highly anticipated shows “Red Band Society” and “Backstrom,” the latter of which got the ax last week.
On the plus side, last season’s crop also included the mega-hit “Empire.”
ABC: 5 of 12 Shows Cancelled
ABC ordered 13 new shows last season, with their fair share of one-and-dones. While “The Whispers” hasn’t yet premiered, five shows have shuffled off to the Great Programming Beyond, including “Selfie,” “Cristela,” “Manhattan Love Story,” the ironically titled “Forever” and “Members Only,” which never made it to air.
CBS: 1 Cancelled, 1 Shelved of 7 Shows
CBS, which didn’t place much in the way of new orders last season — only seven new offerings made it on the slate — but nonetheless, of those, “Stalker” has been canceled and “The McCarthys” was pulled from the schedule in February, putting the network’s new show failure rate at around 29 percent.
The CW: 1 of 4 Shows Cancelled
The CW, meanwhile, came out with a relatively solid batting average, even if it didn’t take many swings — of the four shows that the network picked up last season, only one, “The Messengers,” is a one-and-done.