That Time of Year Again, Which of Your Favorite Shows Got the Ax?

Rachel Smith ‘16 / Entertainment Monthly Staff Writer

Grab the tissues and all the chocolate you need to get through the long list of shows that will not return next year. To start off, let us discuss the NBC fan favorite Community, which is finally getting cancelled after its rocky 5 year run.
This show jumped around to different time slots, changed head writers and had cast shifts, but none of it was enough to save this doomed comedy. It was on the chopping block every season and with the exit of Donald Glover and Chevy Chase, the show had its final nail in the coffin.
The cult following started the trend “Six Seasons and Movie” after the finale this year, but perhaps they’ll get there wish of a movie. If Veronica Mars fans can do it, it seems highly likely Community fans would fund a kick-starter to see it on the big screen.

NBC also closed the book on its freshman comedy Growing Up Fisher starring J.K. Simmons as a blind man raising his family with wife, Jenna Elfman. Did they really anticipate audiences responding well to blind jokes? Dramas didn’t hold up much better with Revolution being axed after a steep ratings drop in its second season.
J.J Abrams didn’t have a good year with NBC or Fox. He executive produced Believe, an exorcist-esque drama that was cancelled after 9 episodes. Fox’s Almost Human made it a whole season but Fox decided not to pick it up for a second run.
Crisis didn’t put up much of a fight only making 8 episodes before NBC decided to end the series. The last on their list of farewells was Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ return to television in Dracula. Its dreaded Friday nighttime slot didn’t lend much hope for the troubled stars new series. It struggled to find an audience and though it had the highest ratings for its finale, the network sunk its fangs into the vampire drama.

Over at Fox, we thank the TV gods (executives) for bringing back The Mindy Project and New Girl but their other comedies had to take one for the team. So long, Surviving Jack, Enlisted, Rake and Dads, you will not be missed. Christopher Meloni needed a better transition from drama to comedy and Surviving Jack was not it. Enlisted got the Friday time slot so it was doomed from the beginning. Rake struggled in the ratings despite having Greg Kinnear as leading man. And as for Dads, well…we all saw that coming.
The CW is often hit or miss with their shows and this year they had 3 misses. The Carrie Diaries was finally cancelled after 2 seasons and in the words of Carrie Bradshaw, “I wondered, why is it that they ever tried to ruin Sex and The City in the first place?” The two more original shows on the chopping block are the sci-fi failures The Tomorrow People and Star-Crossed which basically look like the same terrible show.
I am proud to announce that the ABC show I reviewed and predicted to get cancelled has been axed. Mixology got 11 horrible episodes and though one of its stars, Andrew Santino, is a brilliant comedian, the show was unlikable from the beginning. Good choice, ABC.

The network did great in the drama category this year and didn’t have to cancel any. If only they put as much love and attention in there comedies. Trophy Wife, The Neighbors, Super Fun Night and Suburgatory weren’t up to par with audience’s sense of humor and apparently the network isn’t laughing either.
They bought big stars to headline the shows and then didn’t buy the talent to write any of them. Rebel Wilson, Bradley Whitford, Malin Akerman, Ana Gasteyer, Chris Parnell and Jami Gertz are all great comedic actors and all are out of a job. Perhaps ABC will take a little more time to create the Greys Anatomy and Scandal of comedies for their network next season.
CBS has powerhouse shows like The Big Bang Theory, NCIS and long running Two and a Half Men but even they had to make some cuts this year. Another show I reviewed and predicted to be cancelled was the gem Friends With Better Lives. They should have called that show, “Friends Trying to be Friends but They Have Much Worse Lives.” Thank you for putting that show down quickly, CBS.

The other comedies gone with “#FWBL” are Bad Teacher and only surprising cancellation of them all, The Crazy Ones. It wasn’t the best show out their but it did well in the ratings and starred the great Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Geller, who would have thought those names would stand next to each other? That show was swaying back and forth on the chopping block and eventually was cut.
CBS let go of two of its low rated dramas. The first was Josh Holloway‘s return to television, Intellegence. It was called, “The Best New Show of the Year” two days into 2014. Perhaps that’s why people stopped watching, because CBS thinks we’re all really that dumb. Also, Hostages starring Dylan McDermott and Toni Collette, was cancelled after a painful 15 episode stretch.
Now we wait to see what terrible shows these networks will pick up over the summer to eventually end up on this list.