2012-2013 TV Season Cancellations

On 10/10/12, CBS surprisingly struck first blood with the freshman series, marking the first cancellation of this TV season. The series started off with poor ratings and it only got worse with episode 2. This marks one of the first dramas to be cancelled by CBS before finishing its episode run in a long time. CSI: NY will take its 9pm slot and encores of other CBS shows will air at 8pm until Undercover Boss returns Nov. 2nd. No word on what will happen to the remaining episodes. source

On 10/18/12, NBC made the first comedy cancellation of the TV season with the newbie series. It did very well with a special preview after the summer Olympics, but has continuously dropped in its regular timeslot this fall. The last and eighth episode will air on Nov. 7th, 2012. On Nov. 14th, the recently delayed second season of “Whitney” will begin airing in the timeslot. source

On 10/19/12, Shonda Rhimes announced her ABC series would be ending after its current sixth season. The series was renewed in May 2012 for a 13-episode season and people speculated it might be the end, especially after Kate Walsh said she was leaving. However, the ability to do well without its sister series (Grey’s Anatomy) as a lead-in gave some hope for additional episodes or a seventh season, until now. The finale is expected to be official and set to air sometime in early 2013. source

UPDATE: On 12/12/12, it was confirmed the series finale would air January 22nd, 2013. source

On 11/16/12, ABC cancelled the freshman drama that seemed to be riddled with bad luck. The series debuted with so-so ratings, but never improved enough to be a “hit.” ABC did order 2 additional episodes (making it 15 total) but then the sets were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. In the past few weeks, it’s hit some new lows in the ratings and its fate was sealed. 666 joins ‘Pan Am,’ and ‘GCB’ which marks three series that have failed to take over the Sunday at 10pm slot since ‘Brothers and Sisters’ was cancelled in May 2011. It will apparently not be getting those 2 additional episodes and only have 13, but ABC plans to finish airing all the episodes. source

UPDATE: Shortly after cancellation, it was announced that the producers had enough time to change the ending so that it gives closure to the fans. source

UPDATE: On 12/21/12, ABC cancelled their plans to air the remaining 4 episodes beginning on Jan. 6th, 2013. Instead, new episodes of ‘Happy Endings’ and ‘Don’t Trust the B---‘ will air in the timeslot. Anyone interested in seeing how the series concludes will apparently have to wait until summer 2013. source

UPDATE: ABC will air the final four episodes starting June 22nd. source

On 11/16/12, ABC cancelled another freshman drama due to very poor ratings. It was alright with the ratings, but it too was never reaching “instant hit” status. ABC did order 2 additional episodes bringing the total to 15. This could have been foreseen based on ABC’s absolutely horrible track-record with the Thursday at 8pm slot, but they apparently keep forgetting. Last Resort joins the club of shows ABC was unsuccessful at launching in the time slot like ‘Missing,’ ‘Charlie’s Angels,’ ‘My Generation,’ ‘FlashForward’ and ‘The Deep End.’ It will apparently not be getting those 2 additional episodes and only have 13, but ABC plans to finish airing all the episodes. source

UPDATE: Shortly after cancellation, creator Shawn Ryan announced that the final episode "will indeed function as a full-fledged series finale." source

On 11/16/12, CBS cancelled their only new comedy for the fall after 6 episodes. The series debuted to less than stellar ratings for CBS’ standards and continued to drop as time went on, dropping to a series low on its sixth episode. Beginning Nov. 19th, ‘Two and a Half Men’ encores will air in the 8:30pm slot until a mid-season replacement comes in. source

On 11/28/12, The CW cancelled the quirky doctor drama after 6 episodes. The series never did great in the ratings, only premiering to slightly better numbers than the “series” finale of ‘Ringer,’ but well under its series debut in fall 2011. This joins one of the many series cancelled in The CW’s Tues. 9pm slot like ‘Melrose Place,’ ‘Life Unexpected,’ ‘Hellcats’ and ‘Ringer.’ The network plans to air the remaining episodes to their original 13-episode order, but that will be it. source

On 11/28/12, FOX announced the final 4 episodes of the season/series will air in a strange burn-off schedule. The episode airdates are; Saturday, Dec. 29th, Monday, Dec. 31st, Saturday, Jan. 5th, Monday, Jan. 7th. They will all air at 9pm. Though FOX says they have not yet made a decision on season 2, weak and declining ratings suggest that won’t be happening. source

On 1/22/13, ABC pulled the low-rated comedy from the schedule and the stars confirmed it was indeed cancelled. It premiered late in the 2011-12 season, airing just 7 episodes with only so-so ratings. Upon moving it to a new night this fall, it sunk even lower in the ratings. In an attempt for a ratings boost, ‘B’ and “Happy Endings” were placed on Sundays at 10pm (while still airing new episodes on Tuesdays), but did not do so well. It should also be noted that ABC continuously aired episodes out of order which confused many. The last episode to air was on Jan. 15th and was the 11th episode while 8 have yet to air. ABC will be placing new episodes of “Happy Endings” in the now open timeslot to air back-to-back new episodes until Dancing with the Stars begins in March. source

UPDATE: On 4/18/13, ABC announced the final 8 episodes will be released online via Hulu, ABC.com and iTunes on May 17th. source

On 1/23/12, FOX pulled the freshman comedy from their schedule. It premiered to mediocre ratings and continued to drop every episode as it continued. “Raising Hope” will fill in with back-to-back episodes in the 8-9pm slot through February. While FOX has not yet confirmed this is a cancellation, it is highly unlikely to be anything else. source

UPDATE: On 1/25/12, FOX halted production just after pulling the show from the schedule. They completed 15 of their 19 episode order and have aired 13 so far. That leaves 2 unaired episodes. source

On 2/8/13, NBC cancelled the midseason drama after 2 episodes. The show debuted to poor ratings and episode 2 got even worse, so it’s not that big of a surprise. Do No Harm is the fifth scripted drama to be cancelled in the Thursday 10pm slot: “Awake,” “The Firm,” “Prime Suspect” & “Southland” (which is now on TNT). During midseason in 2011, NBC tried making the 10pm slot a third hour of comedy (30 Rock/Outsourced), but it proved unsuccessful and “Outsourced” was cancelled. It should also be noted that NBC has been completely unsuccessful in finding a drama for that Thursday slot since ER ended its 15-season run in March 2009. Repeats of ‘Law & Order: SVU’ will air in its place. source

UPDATE: Starting Saturday, June 29th, NBC will air the remaining episodes of the series for fans. source

On 2/18/13, CBS decided to cancel the highly disliked reality show after only 2 episodes aired. There are 6 unaired episodes. source

On 2/28/13, The CW announced the series would end with its current fifth season. It comes as no surprise since the ratings for the series were never too great and have been very poor this season. The series is expected to have an official ending and will be paired with a retrospective. The series finale is set to air May 13th at 9pm (E.T.). source

UPDATE: On 3/4/13, the cast tweeted their goodbyes and thanks to the fans, but cast member AnnaLynne McCord tweeted something that hinted to a not-so final finale. “Hi Every1! Thk u 4 all of the spprt 4 so long I’m srry u aren’t gtting the proper send off u deserve, but plz kno how much ur luv means 2me!” She may mean because it wasn't the normal "farewell season" type of thing instead of no closure, but everyone will have to watch come May 13th. source

UPDATE: The series finale felt more like a season finale, but mainly ended on a good note.

On 3/1/13, ABC cancelled the new midseason series after only 3 episodes. The premiere debuted to the lowest-rated in-season scripted premiere ever. Perhaps a Valentine’s Day premiere wasn’t the best choice? Whatever the case, this should come as no surprise since ABC’s Thursday 8pm slot is one of their biggest “death slots” of the week. Other freshman series like ‘Missing,’ ‘Charlie’s Angels,’ ‘My Generation,’ ‘FlashForward,’ ‘The Deep End,’ and most recently ‘Last Resort’ have all perished in the same slot. No word on what will happen with the unaired episodes, but repeats of ‘Shark Tank’ will take over for 2 weeks. Starting Mar. 21st, ‘Wife Swap’ will take over the slot and then ‘Wipeout’ will air beginning May 9th. source

UPDATE: Starting Saturday, June 15th, ABC will air the remaining episodes of the series for fans. source

On 4/10/13, The CW pulled the struggling new series from the schedule, essentially cancelling it. It debuted to low ratings and was moved to Fridays after only 2 episodes. Seven of the thirteen episodes have aired so far, with zero word on when or if the remaining five will ever be shown. Repeats of “The Carrie Diaries” and “Oh Sit!” will soon replace the Friday time slot. source

UPDATE: The CW will air the final six episodes starting June 28th with 2 episodes each week. source

On 4/19/13, NBC pulled the very low-rated reality series produced by Eva Longoria after 2 episodes. There is no word on if the remaining episodes will ever air. Starting on April 30th, Grimm will relocate from Fridays to fill in the Tuesday spot. source

UPDATE: Beginning April 30th, the remaining episodes will be available via NBC.com, VOD, Hulu.com, and digital purchase (iTunes, Amazon, etc.). The finale will be available June 4th. source

On 5/8/13, NBC axed the midseason freshman drama. The series started off with low ratings and continued to drop as time went on. Most suspected this would not be renewed when NBC picked up all their other freshman dramas for new seasons a few weeks prior. It had a total of 11 episodes, finishing on March 18th. source

On 5/9/13, NBC cancelled the white house sitcom after a short first season. The series debuted to weak ratings and continued to drop. The last 2 episodes aired in a strange burn-off pattern on March 28th, which hit a new series low. This show was pretty much expected to be cancelled from the get go source

On 5/9/13, NBC cancelled the freshman multi-cam sitcom. It saw decent to poor ratings from the start. One of the obvious reasons it was not cancelled back in fall 2012 was to pair it up with the only other multi-cam comedy, “Whitney.” Obviously, that didn’t do so well since both are now cancelled. Looks like Anthony Anderson is unemployed by NBC all over again. source

On 5/9/13, NBC officially cancelled the comedy series that everyone (who cared) knew had been dead for several months. The series had seen dozens of “revamps”, along with changing showrunners, and then Christina Applegate leaving. The initial plan was to film the final 5 episodes to the season order in a multi-cam style (live audience), but after Applegate departed, the order was trimmed down to 1. However, word was that the single episode had also been scrapped. The remaining leads, Maya Rudolf and Will Arnett, were already attaching themselves to other projects. NBC basically refused to admit defeat on their attempts, despite insiders claiming that is was cancelled back in February. All the episodes produced for season 2 have aired, the last two on Dec. 13th, 2012. source

On 5/9/13, NBC cancelled the critically disliked multi-cam sitcom after 2 seasons. The series had so-so ratings during its first season resulting in being on the bubble. Ratings didn’t improve for season 2 and put it on the bubble again. Looks like Whitney Cummings is out of a job twice this year (her E! talk show was cancelled in Feb.), at least she still has “2 Broke Girls”! source

On 5/9/13, FOX cancelled the Kiefer Suthlerland series after two short seasons. It was a highly anticipated new series back in 2012, but ended up with only so-so ratings. It was basically given a chance because FOX failed with their other new dramas that season. The season 2 premiere date was shuffled several times from Oct. 2012 to Jan. 2013 and then a few times in Feb. 2013. Season 2 begins Feb. 8th. After a 10-month hiatus, it premiered to weak ratings and continued to slip. Adding insult to injury, Sutherland has been given offers to other projects. The unofficial series finale airs Friday, May 10th. source

On 5/10/13, ABC cancelled the ratings-challenged drama after 3 seasons. The ratings had declined and the “changes” didn’t really go over big with the fans. The unofficial series finale airs May 28th, totaling 42 episodes. source

On 5/10/13, CBS announced the CSI spin-off was cancelled after 9 seasons. The ratings have been shaky for the past few seasons and when CBS renewed all but a few of their shows in March, many suspected this season was the last. Looks like it will be joining the Miami branch after all. source

On 5/10/13, NBC cancelled their Matthew Perry comedy after one season. This cancellation comes as a surprise since it was the highest rated freshmen comedy series on the network. The finale aired April 11th, totaling 22 episodes. source

On 5/10/13, CBS put down the struggling midseason starter. It debuted to lackluster ratings for CBS’ standards. The network launches one midseason drama each TV season and no matter what it is, it gets cancelled (CHAOS & NYC 22). When CBS renewed all but a few of their shows in March, it was clear this was cancelled. The unofficial series finale airs May 14th. source

On 5/10/13, ABC axed the very fresh freshman comedy. The series debuted to poor ratings, which marked the lowest rated premiere for a comedy on ABC. Only 2 of its 10 episodes have aired so far and the finale is scheduled to air July 10th. This sudden cancellation could change the airing schedule, but nothing has been stated otherwise. source

On 5/10/13, ABC cancelled the quirky comedy series after three seasons. Ratings didn’t go over too big when ABC tried it on a new comedy night on Tuesdays paired up with “Don’t Trust the B” (also cancelled). ABC attempted to open a 10pm Sunday comedy block in January with airing new episodes of ‘Endings and ‘B,’ but that failed as well. ‘Endings was put back on Tuesdays to air back-to-back episodes in traditional sitcom burn-off style. It was then placed on hiatus and returned on Fridays in the end of March with back-to-back episodes each week. Ratings did poorly on Fridays, but the May 3rd finale did get a decent bump in the ratings. However, there is some hope: USA has been “in talks” with ABC to take over the sitcom if it is cancelled (much like how TBS saved Cougar Town last year). An insider at Sony Pictures TV also stated that they will “fight like hell” to save it. source

On 5/10/13, ABC kicked the kids out for the rest of their lives. The comedy series debuted to fairly well ratings, but it wasn’t any hit. This cancellation comes a bit of a surprise because while ratings dipped a bit, ABC usually gives a chance to their late-starting comedies with decent ratings. A total of 6 episodes out of 13 have aired so far and the finale is scheduled to air June 26th. This may or may not change the airing schedule. source

On 5/10/13, ABC axed the Reba’s freshman sitcom. The ratings weren’t great, but they also weren’t horrible. The finale aired on March 22nd. source

On 5/10/13, NBC cancelled the comedy after one season. The series debuted to decent ratings, but was definitely not a hit. It also caused an upset from the same anti-gay group who attacked Ellen DeGeneres, and they began campaigning to prevent the series from airing. The group eventually moved on (to 666 Park Avenue for having references to the devil) after NBC gave it a full season order. The ratings never did that well over time, though and the finale aired on April 2nd.

PS: this cancellation marks the most unsuccessful year for comedies on the peacock network. A total of 7 comedies cancelled, 5 of which were new. Only 2 have been renewed for next season. source

On 5/10/13, ABC axed the ill-fated drama. The midseason starter began with weak ratings and dropped very fast. The show was put on a strange 4-week hiatus was 2 episodes left. The finale aired on May 5th, with a total of only 8 episodes. source