After a season of lackluster ratings, The CW took a chance last May and renewed Life Unexpected for year two. They hoped that the audience would grow this season but it certainly hasn’t.
Season one of Life Unexpected averaged 2.0 million viewers and a 1.6 rating in the network’s target demographic of women 18-34. This season, the show’s lost more than half of the demo audience, averaging just a 0.7 rating with 1.53 million viewers.
As the network’s lowest rated show, CW execs asked for a couple additional scripts but didn’t order them into production. Life Unexpected is the only series on the network that’s been limited to 13 episodes this season.
While The CW has not officially cancelled Life Unexpected yet, it’s impossible to imagine that they’d renew it for season three. The ratings have just gone too low. Series creator Liz Tigelaar thinks so too. She told the TV Addict back in September that she believed that, if they didn’t get an order for a full season, the show was finished.
The season (likely series) finale will air in January. Deadline is reporting that the writers are treating it like the series finale and will wrap up many of the ongoing storylines.
Tigelaar was skeptical about how fulfilling the end could be. In September, she said, “Obviously if you were doing the end of this story, what I feel the fans want are Cate and Baze together, so that would be a natural series end in someway. Unfortunately, that is not going to to happen by episode 13, at least I don’t think in an artful way. So we’re just going to hope for more and if 13 ends up being our last one we will have some closure, it will feel good and the end, but it won’t be the true end.
What do you think? Should The CW have renewed or canceled Life Unexpected last spring? Why have so many viewers stopped watching? How would you like the series to end?
Image courtesy The CW.
I love the show. I just saw the season finale and was blown away that they fastforwarded two years??? They wrapped it all up nicely but it did NOT flow with the rest of the season- at all. By the way they sumed it up, I can imagine there will be no more episodes. I can’t believe they would cancle the show. It is just sooo good!! I hardly get the time to watch the show but would always record it and watch it later in the week. I’m incredibly disappointed. One Tree Hill was always a fav. show but… Read more »
I am truly outraged that CW would cancel the show. life unexpected had so much potential. I thought the story line at first was a bit off. wasn’t a fan of the bug character. but this show became addicting with Eric Daniels and the forbidden love. I think the best choice in would have been a Wednesday slot. you have too many shows that have built a huge fan base to have a growing show like this compete with. the ending was horrible. to wrap up two yrs later with every one together and a happy ending just leaves too… Read more »
I love Life Unexpected. I cannot believe the viewership has fallen. I saw the season finale tonight and realised the end had been fast-tracked thus making me feel it had ended so I came on to see what was being said online. I do hope we get some more of this show. Maybe Lux in college and attendant drama…
i love this show it really sucks that it is cancelled didnt know anything about it til i saw tonights show i knew something was up!!! soooooooo sad!!
I loved this show. I just saw the season finale. Yes it did feel like they were rushing to tie up loose ends to give us closure. I hope they can find a way to bring it back. FYI….I’m 36 so I’m above the target that they were reaching for. I loved it for the adult troubles with each other and with trying to be parents of a teenager.
Please come back!!!!!!!
I am so upset that this show was cancelled. It is one of the best TV shows to watch. I can’t believe people actually watch Hellcats…..What do we learn from that show? Life Unexpected had real substance and made me cry (good tears) every show! Please renew!
I have watched every episode, most of them twice, and have been completely hooked! Although I am very disappointed to see the show canceled, as a mother of two now grown daughters and …yeah, a former teenager myself….I was always hoping the characters would do a little more evolving on each show, instead of all of them growing up on the same show! I’d really like to see the show come back…with a little better scripts!
I love this show! Please do not cancel. I too have watched this show from the very beginning.
i love life unexpected & i hope it doesn’t get cancelled =( & the reason viewers prob stoped watching is because they had so many repeats 1 week they would say the next week would be a new episode nd the next week was a repeat..
Well, I just finished watching the season finale, and it looks like it’s true: they are cancelling the show. This is really too bad, it is the only show on The CW that I actually liked, and looked forward to seeing it each week. I guess good story-lines based on family can’t compete with vampires and half-naked *****. Really CW you suck.
Mom and I and my aunt and my niece LOVE this show…why are they cancelling?????????????
I loved this show – I hate that it is not continuing.
Hate that they ended that way was to cruel bring them back !
The show was good until they started writing in the teacher/student affair and her constant disrespect to her mother. I think that lost the a good chunk of female viewers.
I love this show!! And yes it is a family show! It shows how Life isn’t always perfect but we always have are family! Please don’t cancel this show!!