As viewers are no doubt aware by now, ABC has decided to cancel their Forever TV show after one season of 22 episodes. Series star Ioan Gruffudd took to Instagram to send a message to the show’s loyal viewers.
He wrote:
My dear friends, fans, supporters.
Tonight, as you all now know, I received a phone call that I was hoping not to receive, and to be honest I really wasn’t expecting it. I knew the numbers hadn’t been great, but I also knew the studio and the network both loved the show, and of course that it had an incredible fan base…so I thought we were in with a pretty good chance.
But sadly no, this time the cards weren’t dealt in our favor. Show business is like that. Hell, life is like that. You ride to the top of the wave and then you come crashing down again. I asked Alice to send out the sad news because I was a little bit shaken up and needed time to gather my thoughts.
So I sat down and started reading the thousands of Tweets in response to the announcement. And the more I read, the more I couldn’t believe it. The love, the sense of solidarity, the hope, the kindness, the support. Not just for the show, but for each other. And slowly I began to focus on what we had gained in the past year, rather than what we had lost in the last five minutes. I was overcome by a sense of gratitude. To have met you all and to have you all rooting for me and the show. At having a chance to play the role of my dreams, even if it was only for a year. To have been given the chance to bring Henry to life.
Watching the interaction of the FOREVER fans come together and share their love for the show has been breath-taking. It was you guys who held me up when I thought I could no longer go on. (Those days were LONG!) You made me smile when you pointed out the little things I did on screen that I thought had gone unnoticed. You gave me confidence when I accidentally found myself reading less than shining reviews. You were always with me, every step of the way, waving your flags, shouting your support for the show. It’s been an incredible, wonderful year, one that I will never, ever forget.
And guess what? The memories belong to us. We get to keep them ‘forever!’ Thanks again a million times for your unwavering support. Stay strong, be brave, and show kindness as often as you can!
Ioan xxx
What do you think? What do you think of Gruffudd’s message? Why do you think Forever has such a passionate viewership yet the ratings weren’t very good?
It is the first time I see so wonderful message from an actor to his fans telling them his deepest thoughts. A gentleman, surely, a man in his feelings, a wonderful human being in his kindness. I hate when show business kill a superb show like Forever be a victim of rates. That is a shame. I will miss all of the cast and characters for a long, long time… but particularly, of course, the talent of Ioan Gruffudd.
I am stunned and in tears that ABC has cancelled Forever. It is such a unique and creative show. Please get rid of some of these mindless boring reality shows and bring back Forever.
Hearing of the cancelation of Forever almost brought me to tears. This is one of very few shows that I watch on commercial TV not being into all the reality shows. I find that this cancelation is typical of ABC they don’t have any idea at all. Hopefully someone will pick up the series if not an excellent show will be gone Forever.
You wonder what “the powers that be” at ABC are thinking when they do not renew a program like Forever which for us fans/viewers was entertaining had a interesting storyline and well acted. If the time slot wasn’t the best for the show you would think they would figure out a better one. Also, promoting it better would have been a big help.I have been a Ioan Gruffudd fan since first seeing him in the A&E channel production Horatio Hornblower series several years ago. Since then I have seen several productions he has starred in. Will have to check the… Read more »
What a great show… I, too, wonder how they decide on ratings. This show had such potential if only they let the characters continue to mature. Television just doesn’t stand behind its shows and give audiences enough time to find them. Truly a sad day to lose this one.
My husband and I (50ish) very much enjoy watching ‘Forever’. The show is very good, with excellent actors and unique story line. The history that is thrown into the story is both interesting and entertaining. We are especially thankful that the writers didn’t feel the need to have the actors continually use bad language to get their point across. This is a show that should remain on the air. Reality shows are dumb and have no thought. Writers-such as the ‘Forever’ team, with talent should be allowed to continue using words and imagination to bring the characters and stories to… Read more »
in addition to my last post, on ioan, what a class act. sending out a letter to the fans, shows he is a real gentleman.
ioan as well as the rest of the cast were great, what a good show. i have to question these ratings and who makes them. no one i know has ever been asked. how many times do we have to loose a good show while the trash just keeps on going. it’s time to question the ratings system.
such a good show
agree with the above comments
it is strange how like minded people enjoyed the show???
JUST BRING IT BACK and all is forgiven 🙂
I am stunned that forever is being cancelled great cast great stories love the bits of history. Big mistake
We are so disappointed that ABC cancelled Forever. We looked forward to watching it every week. Great cast! Great acting! Great storyline! Please reconsider ABC!!!!!
This is the type of program that one looks forward to each week, in fact you set your DVR to be sure you will not miss it.
Why are the good shows always canceled??? After reviewing the list of those given another year it is simply amazing what type of trash is being renewed.
Bitter, bitter disappointment!!!
I agree that ABC did not support this show enough. It has the features of the Highlander, Sherlock Holmes, CSI and the clasic secret identity. How could it miss? Only by ABC treating it as a throw away, which they have done. Fox or somebody needs to scoop this up?
I watched Forever from first through last episode. It was well-cast, well-written, well-acted, and very creative. I have always loved Judd Hirsch and have become a fan of Ioan Guifford as a result of his role as Henry Morgan. Cancellation was a huge mistake.
The premise of “Forever” was truly unique. One of the great things about the ensemble cast was it appeared they had been working together for years…most new shows have a period where the actors need to mesh. This cast came in as a cohesive group.
The only drawback for me was that ABC put them in a 10pm time-slot. Due to my work schedule I had to DVR the show and watch it. THANK GOD I did… now I have the whole season.
But I would love to have a second and third season for the show. It deserved it!