Mike Royce, the co-creator of cancelled Men of a Certain Age, says that he and co-creator/star Ray Romano are throwing in the towel. The pair have been working behind the scenes in an effort to find a new home for their TNT series.
On his blog, Royce posted a letter to fans titled “Hold Your Head Up“:
Hi folks,
Sorry I haven’t been in touch. Unfortunately there’s been nothing to report. And at this point, since we want to be straight with you guys, I have to tell you that we’ve kind of reached the end of the road. Hard to admit, but it’s true.
If you can think of a network, we called them. Of course, “Men of a Certain Age” doesn’t really belong on certain networks. But we called them too. We called everybody. We tried online, satellite, alternate content providers, corporate sponsorship, Taxi TV, filmstrips… everything. We’ve exhausted every possibility and then some.
I was certainly hoping – actually, naively expecting a different outcome. I thought somebody would pick us up. Ray and I feel strongly that there are places where MOACA would not only be an excellent fit, but a home run. But we couldn’t persuade others to see it that way. And at a certain point, you gotta move on.
Sure, a miracle could still happen somehow. So please don’t “unlike” this page or unsign the petition. It’s still good to be able to show the world how much you guys care about the show.
We can’t thank all you enough. So many of you have worked your asses off to help us find the show a home. To see the support continue to pour in now weeks and weeks later is really incredible.
It’s also hard to express how grateful we are to the awesomely talented 200+ people who made the show. The cast and the crew were not only the best but made it a joy to come to work each day.
And we also want to thank TNT. I know it’s natural to look at it like “they’re the ones who cancelled it,” but a more accurate viewpoint is “they’re the ones who put it on.” Honestly, the notion that a show about the lives of three 50 year olds was on television at all in this day and age is a miracle. It shouldn’t be, but it is. On top of that TNT gave us the rare opportunity to do the show the way we wanted.
The end result is, we’re proud of the work, proud of the critical response and mostly proud that the show seems to have secured a deep place in people’s hearts that isn’t always reached. Like some of you, we feel a little like we’ve lost a friend. But the good news is, the 22 episodes live on. They even end in a good place (if too soon).
So think of us as not as a cancelled show but a “mini-series by accident.”
Because really that’s our biggest hope: if you are a fan, turn other people on to it. We want it to live on. Hey, for better or for worse, the ratings tell us there are plenty of people out there who haven’t seen “Men of a Certain Age.” We hope they check it out.
Thanks, and see you on the hill.
—Mike Royce & Ray Romano
Men of a Certain Age ran for two seasons on TNT, beginning in December of 2009. The first season of Men attracted a 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 3.2 million total viewers. The season started off strong but viewership dwindled as the season went on.
Year two kicked off part one of season two in December 2010 and essentially matched the lowest-rated episode of season one. The later episodes did even worse and averaged a poor 0.5 demo rating with 2.16 million viewers. In the spring, the second half of the season did worse with an average of a 0.4 demo and 1.59 million.
TNT cancelled the series in mid-July, a week or so after the defacto series finale aired.
What do you think? Did you like the TV series? Why do you think it didn’t catch on? Why did so many who started watching, stop?
Image courtesy TNT.
I loved this show and was so sad when it was cancelled. Someone did a lousy job marketing it. Everyone I talked to about it never heard of it. I think it would have been a success if it had been advertised correctly. I wish they would bring it back.
I only caught glimpses of the show a couple of times but recall enjoying it. If you have trouble finding a network to carry it may I suggest Rabbit TV? I think they show independently produced programs, though I could be wrong. Good luck.
A true, quality show full of humor and insight yet never quite taking itself too seriously. A rare balance in modern television – a subtlety that is so often missed in lieu of sensationalism, idiocy or just plain BS. Congrats to Romano and Royce for the work they put in – I for one will pass it on, cancelled or not, to my friends and family. SO hard to find tv that is at once funny, powerful, emotional and heartfelt. RIP Men…
How in the hell can they cancel one of the BEST shows on tv. It was very relaxing and enjoyable. Three of the best characters on any show. Remember the Office. It was at the bottom of the ratings for several years but they had confidence in it. It was on for 10 years
and always on top. They don’t give new shows enough time to progress. This would definitely have been a winner. BRING IT BACK!!!!!!.
Maybe I shouldn’t even admit how much I have enjoyed “MOACA” since I got access to it over Netflix…..because I wouldn’t want to hurt its chances of renewal by ADMITTING my age and sex….89 and a girl.
But my own kids went thru that age and it gives me some understanding of men’s thinking that I really didn’t have…since my men, as most, could not/would not express themselves to me.
It’s a GREAT show quality-wise, writing and acting…and we are SO STARVED for even GOOD. I thank the writers/actors for their efforts. Don’t give up.
Found the show on Demand – just looked up the info and am so sorry to see it is canceled. What a great show!!! I wish there was something I can do to bring it back…
It’s happening again!!!!! Finally, a show dealing with real life issues and fairly believable characters getting canceled. Apparently we “fifty something’s” don’t carry enough weight when it comes to programming.. RIP Men of a Certain Age…..
Loved the show–thought it was so funny!! It is amazing the stuff they leave on and then take off something good!!
I just saw that this wonderful show has been cancelled. So many of my friends love this show. We are that generation and it resonates with us. I am deeply saddened that yet another great show has left us. With al the technology and venues for viewing television and movies how does the “normal” rating system even work anymore. So many of us DVR shows to watch at a different time. This does not mean we are not watching it just means we love the show and do not want to miss it. I hope that you can find another… Read more »
Loved the show & am in my early thirties… Bring it back if possible!:)
Men of a certain age is cxld but meet the browns lives on……pity
Recently found the show on demand. Never heard about it before. What a great show. We did a marathon of the shows couldn’t stop watching them. This show should of been on a major network prime time. This show would of never been cancelled. Awesome show and sad it won’t be back. Get smart TNT and promote it better and put it back on. Great writing. This was a winner.
I was really disappointed to see the show was being cancelled. We recently had an “on demand” feature added to our cable, and was were able not only get introduced to the show, but got caught up (time wise as well as emotionally) with the show. I just got online to check up on when we could be expecting some new shows, and got the bad news! I’ve been telling friends about the show, and suggesting that they check it out. I hope at some point it can be resurrected. I’m in that age bracket, and I really connected with… Read more »