Here’s the tenth and final status update on the fates of your favorite shows across the major broadcast networks. This week brings the Upfronts presentations where the nets unveil their new programming for the upcoming 2016-17 TV season. Before we get to that, read on to find out which shows will be returning for more, and which ones are biting the dust. Fair warning, the networks committed deep spring cleaning, so brace yourselves.
CBS is forging forward with one long-running franchise and saying goodbye to another. Criminal Minds has been renewed for a 12th season, and according to Deadline, its spinoff Beyond Borders is expected to return for a second run. CSI: Cyber, on the other hand, has been cancelled after two seasons. The axing of the spinoff marks the end of an era for The Eye; next season will mark the first time the network isn’t airing a CSI show in 16 years. For those keeping count, the original CSI ran for 15 seasons, and its other spinoffs CSI: Miami and CSI: NY ran for 10 and 9 seasons, respectively. After some negotiation between CBS and studio Warner Bros. TV, Supergirl will produce a second season, but it will do so on sister network The CW. The superhero show, created by prolific producer Greg Berlani, will join Berlanti’s other crop of DC Comics-based series at The CW including Arrow, Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow. Elsewhere, ensemble sitcom Life in Pieces was renewed for a sophomore run. We’re still waiting on the fates of hospital drama Code Black and sitcom The Odd Couple, but Deadline predicts imminent renewals on both fronts. Update (5/16): Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, Code Black, The Odd Couple, and Undercover Boss have all been renewed. Freshman drama Rush Hour has been cancelled.
Jump after the break for more from NBC, FOX, and ABC.
NBC has swiftly offed many of its midseason offerings, and if you haven’t heard of them that’s likely because the Peacock may not have done its best in marketing them to viewers. Ready, set, axe: Medical drama Heartbeat headlined by Melissa George, crime thriller Game of Silence featuring David Lyons and Michael Raymond-James and sitcoms Telenovela with Eva Longoria and Crowded with Carrie Preston and Patrick Warburton are all goners. Joining that cancellation list is Undateable (a Bill Lawrence sitcom that dabbled in a third season consisting of live shows) and Debra Messing starrer The Mysteries of Laura which is getting the boot after two seasons. There is some good news here, though, for fans of ABC’s Friday night sitcom fare; Last Man Standing with Tim Allen and Dr. Ken with Ken Jeong are both returning for sixth and second seasons, respectively. Elsewhere, comedian Jerrod Carmichael’s half-hour sitcom The Carmichael Show will return for a third run.
FOX also performed a clean sweep of its low-rated freshman series. Despite its critical darling status, the Rob Lowe fronted sitcom The Grinder will not be returning for a second season. Also including in FOX’s hit list is John Stamos family comedy Grandfathered, midseason entry Cooper Barrett’s Guide To Surviving Life, Seth MacFarlane-produced animated sitcom Bordertown and dramas Minority Report and Second Chance. (You could say the latter series, very loosely based on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, won’t be getting a second chance, ahem, but I won’t do that. Oops, I just did.) Okay, you want some good news, and here it is: despite the fact that one of the two main leads has left the show, Sleepy Hollow will in fact return for a fourth run! As a longtime fan of the series, I’m certainly intrigued to see how events move forward from here and now we’ll get the chance to witness such a feat (see what I did there, Sleepyheads?!)
ABC, not to be left out of the cancellation party, deserted six series from its programming lineup. Let’s begin with the two biggest surprises. Following news that Nathan Fillion’s co-star Stana Katic would not be returning to the veteran crime procedural, the Alphabet network decided to end Castle after eight seasons. Equally unexpected is the sudden cancellation of country music soap Nashville. The show is about to wrap its fourth season, and the network had already lined up new showrunners in Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick to break bread on a fifth season. Though the show certainly had its ups and downs in the creative department, it spawned some amazing talent and groomed its cult fanbase with nationwide tours. Nashville is currently being shopped around at other networks by studio Lionsgate TV; EW speculates Hulu–where it currently has streaming rights–and CMT may be good fits.
Another hard pill to swallow is the cancellation of Agent Carter. The Marvel offshoot starring Hayley Atwell as the titular SSR agent fiercely portrayed a strong woman who didn’t need a man to kick-ass, be funny, and rule the roost. Fans will forever count their lucky stars that we got to go on not one but two memorable adventures with Carter and Jarvis (James D’Arcy). Somewhat of a silver lining: Atwell will return to the network in the fall as she’s starring in new legal drama Conviction. In other ABC-Marvel news, Agents of SHIELD spinoff Marvel’s Most Wanted is not going forward at the network, so here’s to hoping headliners Adrianne Palicki and Nick Blood’s Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter are reintegrated back into the flagship series soon.
And then there’s the rest. Mystery thriller The Family won’t live on to see a second season–but will viewers be privy to answers come this week’s now-series finale? Also on the chopping block is The Muppets; though the fun sitcom was on a creative upswing during the latter half of its debut, low ratings warranted the network to swing. Also dead is whimsical musical comedy Galavant, but perhaps its not gone. Ever since series composer and longtime Disney veteran Alan Menken shared this tweet, rumors have been swirling that Galavant will reprise on the stage.
Despite all the recent carnage at ABC, there’s a trifecta of series that will return next season and they are John Ridley’s captivating and critically acclaimed anthological drama American Crime, Shonda Rhimes’ The Catch, and sleeper sitcom The Real O’Neals. The former series will produce a third season, and the latter two have been granted second life.
Update (5/17): House of Lies season 5 finale will serve as a series finale as Showtime has opted not to bring it back for a sixth season.
Update (5/22): Damien, the sequel series to the cult horror film The Omen, has been cancelled at A&E after one season.
Update (5/25): Limitless, the CBS procedural based on the 2011 movie starring Bradley Cooper, will not be returning for a second season. Showrunner Craig Sweeny confirmed on Twitter that the short-lived show “will not continue on any platform.”
Elsewhere, FX has set an end date for its critically acclaimed Cold War spy series The Americans. It will return for a 13-episode fifth season next year, and it will wrap with a 10-episode sixth season in 2018. EPs and co-showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields are pleased with the network’s decision to allow them to conclude the show on their terms.
“It’s hard to believe we’re heading into the final stretch on The Americans, and we’re so grateful to know we’ll be telling the story to its conclusion,” said Fields and Weisberg. “It’s a lot of people putting their hearts and souls into The Americans, at this point for a lot of years. We’re looking forward to the final two.”
Update (5/31): Amazon wants the Transparent train to keep chugging along, and so the streaming network has ordered a fourth season of Jill Soloway’s award-winning dramedy.
Update (6/1): Starz has renewed time-travel drama Outlander for a third and fourth season.