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! 
51. Anonymous said,
Too bad they pulled Men In Trees. a show in Alaska would certainly have quite and audience now
50. Loraine B said,
Looked forward to MIT after Grey’s on Thursday nights, now, who knows whats on and who really cares. MIT’s was a wonderful show with lots of talant. too bad you can’t see that it brought humor to all that watched. Just keep with the drap and disfunctional shows that are on. boy they really SUCK…
To all the cast of MITm you will be missed by all..sorry they didn’t give you a chance..you had potential!
49. Copey Agnes said,
Men is Trees was one of the greatest series ever aired. The acting was superb. What in the world is wrong with ABC–tossing it from one time slot to another? I wish it would come back –it was the highligt of my week and I am 79 years old!!!!!
BRING “MEN IN TREES” BACK!!!!!!!!!
48. teka said said,
bring back men in trees this was a really fantastic show give it a real time slot , bring it back, bring it back,
47. Lori B. said,
Hey ABC. You guys are absolute idiots. You have now become famous for canceling shows mid-season or at the end of a season and not saying anything. But that’s okay — we still have stimulating TV like Tori & Dean, I Survived a Japanese Game show, and Wipeout which is a knock off of Spke’s MXC. That’s also okay because I’m sure that some celebrity wannabee will come along and ask you to put them on the air (Dina Lohan, Denise Richards, Pam Anderson). Now that’s quality TV. And we also have all of those crime scene shows which just gives our mentally challenged psychopaths ideas on how to kill someone. Between the reality shows, game shows and violence on TV today, I don’t even watch regular TV any more. I’ve chosen to expand my knowledge with MSNBC and Discovery. At least it is “real”.
think you need to get some new, young blood in your executive department. Since you obviously don’t care about your viewers, why don’t you cancel Desperate Housewives or Lost? You’ve already pissed off a large percentage of viewers. You may as well piss of the rest and then sell ABC for a big profit before it goes completely down the toilet.
BRING BACK MEN IN TREES ON A REGULAR SCHEDULED DAY AND TIME SLOT AND GIVE IT A FAIR CHANCE. YOU GUYS ARE BLOODY IDIOTS.
46. Jackie said,
Very big disappointment, the cancellation of MIT, it really was a great show with a great story line and a great cast. It could still grow, someone, PLEASE put it back on TV, ANY network, we ALL will follow!
45. Nicole said,
what a disappointment- i really enjoyed MIT. very funny and smart! It was my own hour to enjoy TV. Characteres were cute and interesting. I grew up in a small town and this show really hit the small town atmosphere!…. what a bummer……
44. aley said,
ABC who? I will miss MIT and ABC will miss me because i will not watch this network until they bring MITs back.
43. Jessica said,
Not sure why this was cancelled, who cares about the huge ratings, it had good ratings and the fans truley loved this show! I love October Road as well two of my favorit shows. This should be thought over for the loyal fans. It was a good wholesome show!! A fun to watch and look forward to every week. Cant be surprised when you constantly change nights and take off and put back on the air. What does ABC expect? PLEASE PUT BACK ON!
42. kimberly said,
Cancelling MIT is a bad idea - what a fun little show with beautiful scenery. Just a feel good thing and everytime something really good comes along - someone gets a brilliant idea to axe it… VERY DISAPPOINTED MIT has been cancelled.. Please rethink that Decision
41. Pam said,
I never knew that MIT was filmed through another production company. It comes down to the money. They replaced it with a pathetic show… October Roads, which was a huge bomb. I can’t believe that lifetime didn’t pick it up. How pathetic is that? It’s so frustrating and disappointing to get involved with a show and it’s characters only to have it yanked. Should have known ABC/Disney only cared about the money. Doesn’t surprise me. Just gives me another reason to never watch ABC again. Thus far I’ve done a great job of not watching anything they offer. I’ll continue to do so and pass the word along to others.