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?
I almost want to stop watching t.v. Everytime I start really enjoying a series they yank it off the air. Than they leave on the stupid stuff with the reality shows that obviously cost the networks very little to make but rake in the bucks! If you are a good or great actor you are out of luck. you have to be someone that is willing to laid in a box with snakes tomake 100 bucks while the greedy exec. rake in the billions.
We love two of the new shows that are being cancelled. Forever and Backstrom are the only new shows we watch in our house but would not miss either one of these shows.
This is anther explable of losing who ever is making decisions of not know what people want. It’s a great show don’t throw it out
I so enjoyed your show. Not just because I loved the premise, but all of you played your parts honestly. As we got deeper into your characters, I felt the hardship of your dilemma. I am saddened to hear of this show’s demise. Perhaps your fan base can spark an interest in another network. I noticed a lot of fans talked about the time slot. Maybe it did effect it’s viewership, but that’s where sites such as HuluPlus, Netflix or Amazon Prime come into play. Viewers can watch any time they want. I pay for those sites willingly. We were… Read more »
Please somebody save this Great Show! Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, TNT, A&E, USA, FX just to name a few! This show deserves a good home. Save Henry, No, and Abe Forever!!!
Every year, networks introduce new shows in hopes of gaining a major share of the audience in any given time slot. Every year, they hope for a blockbuster that will get them billions of viewers. Sadly, the days of blockbusters are gone but the networks don’t seem to have noticed. Millenials, Gen X, Gen Y don’t really watch TV the way previous generations did- and they probably never will. Sadly, networks chase the audience they’re never going to win while ignoring the audience that they have. Cable networks understand that a show with relatively low production costs that garner a… Read more »
I’m from Puerto Rico and I really love FOREVER….It’s a lost for all the fans…
please reconsider this decision I love forever. you needed to get rid of fresh off the boat that had bad rating ,once upon a time. don’t even watch your channel but for this program.Give it another chance please.
I can’t believe it!! I watch forever every week and it is one of the most interesting and entertaining shows on TV. Great characters, lots of room for the story to grow. Hope against hope that some network will pick it up. There is so much “reality” crap on, where does one go for a great story?
I am also saddened by the cancellation of FOREVER. It’s such a great and entertaining show. I love all the actors and the storyline was so interesting. Even though the ratings weren’t as high as ABC wanted, they should give it another chance. Hopefully, all of us fans will be heard and ABC will reconsider.
Keep FOREVER for another season!!!!!
Ioan, you are a great actor and I loved watching you play Dr. Henry Morgan every week. My husband and I made sure we didn’t miss a single episode. We even call each other Henry and Abigale sometimes to goof around. It makes us happy to think about our favorite show. We are SO disappointed that ABC cancelled it! We posted on several sites to express our opinion in hopes that they would change their minds. We loved you and all the actors. You were great together and the characters and storyline was amazing! Your post was very noble and… Read more »
There’s nothing left for me to say…. everyone has said it already. ABC is certainly run by morons &/or apes to have dropped this incredible show and kept the crap they keep renewing…. And they wonder why they’re not gaining any new viewers? I don’t know which show is worse, Dancing w/the has beens, American’s not funny home videos, or the desperate Bachelor? Yes I could list a lot more but you already know which junk (& cheap to produce) I mean. All I can end with is that the huge fan base of FOREVER will miss everything about it.… Read more »
Yet another quality show with a good storyline cancelled 🙁 I know I am not the only one who is tired of the networks dumping good shows just to fill the airwaves with garbage “reality” shows. I am sick of watching singing shows, “stars” dancing, and people making a mockery out of marriage. These are the same ignorant losers who swoon over all these award shows that watch this stuff. I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s where a show could be counted on to be on the same night each week and build a following. Time was given… Read more »
What a touching response from , one of my favourite actors, Ioan Gruffudd. He brings believability to any role he has undertaken, and shows true compassion, when needed;or anger and impatience, when needed. “Forever” has been on our ‘must watch’ list since it’s beginning and should be renewed. Instead, Networks are , already, advertising ‘new ‘ programs . We are most likely going to give up network television and won’t bother getting ‘involved’ with any of the new series. Why? Well, simply because, it is becoming ‘painful’ getting ‘hooked’ on a show, only to have them cancelled. So, it is… Read more »
I am from Indonesia and watch “Forever” via internet. This is one of the best serial TV i ever seen ! why cancelled?? Serial yang selalu saya tunggu-tunggu! I hope will see the 2nd episode.