Men in Trees: ABC Cancels Anne Heche Drama
After being ping-ponged around the ABC schedule for two years, the network has cancelled the series about Marin (Anne Heche) and the residents of Elmo, Alaska. In retrospect, the writing’s been on the wall for awhile.
When Men in Trees premiered in the fall of 2006, it attracted a respectable number of viewers. Unfortunately, the show never seemed to be a priority for the network — possibly because it’s not produced by ABC’s in-house production company. Though its viewership was slowly growing, the TV show’s first season was cut short due to ABC’s scheduling of October Road (which is produced by ABC Studios). Instead of airing all 22 episodes, the network opted to air just 17 and added the remaining five episodes to the series’ season two order, in preparation for a possible writers strike.
When the writers strike hit in November 2007, it was expected that Men in Trees would benefit from the lack of original scripted programming on network television. That never seemed to happen and the series was put on hiatus in December. It returned once the strike was over in February and ABC cut Men in Trees’ second season order to 19 episodes, including the five from season one.
There series is on hiatus once again and isn’t scheduled to return until after the May sweeps period is finished — a sure sign that a network has lost faith in a series. ABC sent tapes of both Men in Trees and October Road to Lifetime to see if they’d be interested in taking on either series. They weren’t.
To little surprise, series creator Jenny Bicks was informed of the Men in Trees cancellation last week. She lamented to TV Guide, “I wish the show had not been moved six times and put onto two long hiatuses. No show could survive that.”
She says, “I am really proud of the work we did on MIT… A huge thank you to our supportive fans.”
On the positive side, Bicks realized that the series might not be back for season three and the cast and crew did some extra filming. As a result, an alternative ending for this season’s finale was filmed to serve as a series finale.
Men in Trees is scheduled to return to ABC on May 28th. If the network lets it remain in that Wednesday night timeslot for three episodes, the series finale should air on June 11, 2008. Based on the network’s track record with this show, it’s hard to say if that will actually happen. Stay tuned! 
June 7th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Personally….. we finally get a decent show that makes you laugh and has some really great characters and a wonderful story line and it gets cancelled. How depressing!!! Instead we get to see reality TV which is really not reality, crime shows and stupid game shows. When all I beleive the majority of people would like to be enetertained by what Men In Trees brings. A story of something that we can relate to and escape from the day in and day out hum drum of working at the office. I looked forward to the nights of Men In Trees, it makes the rest of the week a much happier place to be. Seriously every channel you turn on its about this investigation of somone being murdered. We hear and see enough bad news every day. Why take away a show that is like a breath of fresh air, where we can see the beauty of what Men In Trees brings not some crime show you know the start the middle and the end to as soon as it starts. Please rethink.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
There are so many of us that loved this show, it was comforting,funny, and just gave us a “family” feel. So many crazy shows and you take MEN IN TREES OFF? I hope you change your mind soon, or ABC will loose alot of viewers..Put it on and keep it in one spot!!!!
May 28th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
i’m sorry to see that “october road” and “men in trees” are no longer on the air. i’ll be looking forward to their shows when they come on dvds..especially “men on trees”. what i enjoyed is down home feeling when i watched these two shows.
“dancing with the stars”, “grey’s anatomy” and “desperate hussies” are what ruling the airwaves these days.
NBC is no longer the must see tv anymore..lol..
May 28th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
How many time slots did you have MIT in? How many weeks was it taken off air? It is no wonder the show couldn’t get ratings, no one could find it. It was one of 4 network shows that we watched and the only one on ABC so guess what……….now your batting .000 in this household. Keep up the Mickey Mouse work!!!!
May 28th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
I have been an avid supporter of ABC series, however these decisions appall me! Finally you brought us your regular viewers a different content which many have embraced .I could only hope that the indiviuals that make these decisions take the time to read all of our thoughts and comments.otherwise, I fear they are about to lose a enormous audience.
May 24th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
October Road and Men in Trees are the 2 shows I recorded weekly to keep up with. They were both homespun, They left you with a different perspective and a happy feeling. I am tired of the drama and reality shows. I am sorry to see these shows leave. Not much on TV lately other than an occasional movie. It is hard to find good evening TV series to follow. oh Well !! Thanks for the short time of good tV viewing, even if you can’t get the hang of good scheduling.
May 18th, 2008 at 10:00 am
I want to take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart for bringing us two seasons of Men in Trees! And thank you for making it easy for me to permanently tune out ABC shows! For months I have been indecisive as to whether I should keep watching network tv, MIT kept me coming back to ABC. I even tried out Eli Stone which I also enjoyed. However, your terrible decision to cancel MIT has led ME to decide to cancel ABC. I know that you blame it on the ratings, but you and I both know that the lack of viewers is solely ABC’s fault. You moved the show around so much it was impossible for fans to find it. You took it off the air for months at a time. And when it was finally on the air you rarely advertised that fact. Finding Men in Trees was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. You did that intentionally because you never wanted the show to succeed. If you would have put even one-eighth of the promotional effort into MIT that you do into your favorites, “LostGreysUglyDancingHousewives”, then it would have been a huge success. But Men in Trees was too good of a show for ABC. It didn’t fit in to the agenda that that Disney pushes. And that is why you killed this show. ABC/Disney doesn’t want shows that promote love, friendship and positive thinking. No, they want shows that portray men as spineless, wimpy, whining idiots and women as bossy, *****y, backstabbing whores. Men in Trees did not fit in with all of your other shows, so I understand why you wouldn’t want it on your network. Well, you will get exactly three more hours of my viewing time and after that I am done with ABC forever. No longer will I start my day out with Good Morning America. NBC will get my attention now. You can take Barbara Walters and her “View” and shove it where the sun don’t shine. (I didn’t appreciate her special being in MIT’s slot last night!) Sorry, but I won’t be tuning in to the nightly news with Charlie Gibson. And even though I like Eli Stone, if by some chance you renew that show for another season, I won’t be watching it either. I know that I am only one person in the almost 300 million people that live in the United States, but I can guarentee you that I am not the only one that will be done with ABC permanently after this idiotic decision. If you bother to read the comments on the message boards and at tvguide.com then you will know how pissed off people are and how done with ABC they are. You let less then one percent of the population decide what is being watched on tv. Surely even you know how antique and outdated the Nielson ratings system is. However, I was thrilled when I read that the ratings were slumping for your favorite shows. I hope that fans everywhere stand up in protest to you ABC and that your ratings continue to slide until you are at the bottom of this trash heap we call network television!
May 13th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
i just can’t believe this! my daughter-in-law would come over every week just to watch this with me it was our wednesday date!!! i am 46 and abc has always been my family pick of networks but if this is not made right and this show is not brought back on you can bet it will be fox nbc or cbs! PLEASE MAKE THIS RIGHT!!! by the way my husband loves this show too! so this is for all the men out there please raise some hell aaaaabout this!!!
May 13th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
I personally think ABC’ s decision to cancel this show just shows how they want to control our viewing decisions and cattle herd the public into other shows that have no moral meaning or just plain stupid this show was actually appealing to baby boomers like myself just to see how the other half lives in ALASKA .Maybe if this had been a reality show to destroy someones life it would have been a hit I guess real life isnt good enough to satisify abc execs.to us simple folk who pay the bills you are cramping my style sex and drugs are not everything
May 13th, 2008 at 3:16 am
I live in South Africa and enjoy Men in Trees and October Road more than Greys or Desperate House Wives or for that matter any other show. I’m equally sad to hear that they’re both cancelled. ABC definitely need to do their homework better to realise which shows are more popular. Greys and House Wives are getting very boring and I will rather have them be discontinued than Road or Trees. Come on ABC give these shows a fair chance and you will discover that they will be more popular than your so called favorites. The characters on Trees and Road are so much more human and the scripts are more interesting. If anyone asks me to choose a bunch of friends out of a TV Series, guess who, Trees and Road’s people for sure! I think all the fans out there in the world should unite and write to ABC to show their dissapointment! Come on lets do it!
May 12th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
This sucks…they never gave it a chance! I would seach and saw every show…they always cancel the good ones….what great people, everyone of them was a joy to watch. No wonder TV sucks..they don’t care what the viewers want…I have never even watched one show of Boston Legal…can’t get past the two space cadets that are the lead men!
May 11th, 2008 at 6:29 am
Hard to build any viewership or loyalty when you move things around for whatever reasons. This was one of those shows that was constantly on the move and while many won’t, I did make the effort to go looking for it. When you have to work that hard to watch something you enjoy, well sometimes it is just easier to turn on the radio or put on a cd. This was one of those great lighthearted shows that you could just sit and relax and not worry about the shoot em up and blood and guts that you would have to endure. It also gave me a thing or two to ponder. If someone else decides to pick this one up, I for one will be happy to watch and I don’t think I’ll be alone…give it try someone!!!!! TV needs nice shows like this one.
May 9th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Just one more cancellation of a really good show. I am sick of, and do not watch the so called “Reality” shows. Guess there are no more talented writers out there, they have filled TV with that ****. Men in Trees and October Road has good scripts, great to watch with great story lines, and talented actors. I even managed to watch it even though I had to practically hunt for the new time slot in what seems like weekly. Lifetime, since you are the only network with decent shows please reconsider ABC’s castoff’s. They are apparently to stupid to know a good thing when they’ve got it.
May 9th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
What a bunch of a$$h0les at ABC. Damn! They wouldn’t know a good show if it bit them between the pockets. This was the closest I came to watching a “Northern Exposure” type of show. As far as I’m concerned, Northern Exposure got dropped way too soon–loved the show and have episodes on DVD. Anyway, fans of shows can’t count on the networks listening to a damned word they have to say; fans have no input. Even if a show gets renewed, look at how long they keep them on the air. Geeze, what a waste!
May 9th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
They keep “Boston Legal” and “Desperate Housewives”, 2 of the dumbest tv shows I have ever watched(or rather, glanced at), and cancel a good tv show? If you want to bring such useless tripe and drivel on tv, just bring Marcy Darcy from Married: With Children whining for an hour….
May 9th, 2008 at 6:33 am
I’m not surprized ABC cancelled the show - they moved it and preempted so many times you couldn’t keep up. At least I know now why and know not to get into any of their series- they just might cancel and how am I to know if it’s not an ABC production company series. It was cute, the cast of characters and plots crazy but refreshing. Sorry to see you go.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Men In Trees is an enjoyable show, there are TOO Many Reality shows on TV an
TOO many violent shows. For those of us who have serious jobs, a lighthearted
show is relaxing, but I guess there is the off switch on the TV.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:16 am
I can’t believe they are cancelling “Men in Trees”. I agree with Double Dee, how many detective shows can one watch. “Men in Trees” is a great series. Anne Heche is fabulous along with the rest of the cast. There isn’t anything good on local channels anymore. Guess I’ll have to watch cable. Please reconsider bringing back “Men in Trees”.
May 5th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
I am very sad, I liked the show, and for once it had some clever and different plots, they should look into other shows to cancel, or stop the constant repeats!
between this and big shots being cancelled, there are no more NEW shows. Same ol **** and b.s. out there. how many more detective shows or law shows can one watch- If they would have just advertised when show are going to be on instead of constantly telling us when the “big named shows” are going to be on people may actually be interested - when things are not on the same time slot, and moved around, we cant keep up with it. maybe they are going to add more reality shows……….oh please………….please.
May 5th, 2008 at 9:08 am
personally, i’m gladd it was canceled. i tried it a couple timez and culdn’t get into it. i love octobor road tho! eddie is a cutie!!!