Though things were looking good for a second season of CBS’ vampire show, Moonlight has been cancelled. The show has loyal followers, the ratings were decent, and the series often won its timeslot. What happened?

Essentially Moonlight has been cut for a number of reasons. The rest of the network’s schedule is quite strong in the ratings and it certainly makes no sense to cancel one of the stronger series. If Moonlight were on the ratings-challenged CW, it certainly would have been renewed.

Like Jericho last season, Moonlight has a devout but small audience. Unfortunately, CBS’ decision to resurrect Jericho didn’t work out so well for them. Though many campaigned to get Jericho renewed, fewer people tuned in. CBS likely feels a bit burned by that experience and is reluctant to go down that road again.

The cancellation also stems from the fact that CBS is feeling very confident about their new batch of drama pilots. They’ve given a greenlight for four new dramas this fall and there just wasn’t any room left on the schedule for Moonlight. They know that Moonlight’s audience is unlikely to grow very much and would rather take a chance on a new show.

There’s been much upheaval behind-the-scenes and it’s been reported that the network hasn’t been impressed with the show’s creative development. The ratings were also usually lower than both its lead-in (Ghost Whisperer) and lead-out (Numb3rs).

CBS has given the okay for another season of The Unit. With the network’s full schedule, the drama will likely end up being bumped from Tuesdays and end up on Fridays in Moonlight’s old slot.

Moonlight’s series finale is set to air this Friday, May 16th. Stay tuned!