ABC won’t be making its official announcement until tomorrow but the axe has already fallen for midseason’s The Unusuals.
The dramady revolves around a dysfunctional but effective group of New York City cops. The series features the talents of Amber Tamblyn, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau, Joshua Close, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Kai Lennox, Terry Kinney, Adam Goldberg, Ryan O’Nan, Ian Kahn, Kat Foster, Heather Burns, Robert Funaro, and George Aloi.
The ABC show debuted on April 8th to a disappointing 6.83 million viewers and a 2.1/6 rating/share of the 18-49 demographic. The following week, the numbers fell to 6.01 million and a 1.8/5. The network tried a different timeslot but the numbers were worse and subsequently fell to a terrible 4.74 million and a 1.4/4.
Though ABC really wanted to find a new cop drama, it became pretty clear that this one wasn’t going to be it. The network has opted to cancel The Unusuals rather than order a second year.
Their official schedule will be announced tomorrow but show creator Noah Hawley has already been informed that the show is dead.
He twittered, “Friends, just heard The Unusuals will not be back for a second season. Thanks for all your amazing support.” He later wrote, “It’s a tough loss.”
There are four episodes left in season one and ABC will begin airing them next week, on May 27th.
Image courtesy ABC.
Seriously? This is a good show, and I am disappointed that ABC is going to cancel it. I believe that it would have done much better (ratings-wise) if they had actually premiered it last fall instead of getting lost in the midseason battle of American Idol/Dancing With the Stars/other reality-tv garbage. My hope is that another network will pick up this great show!!!
I am sick of reality shows, but guess we are stuck with them, as they are so cheap to produce. Well, you get what you pay for. The Unusuals and Life on Mars were both great, so naturally they are cancelled. Does ABC have anything else worth watching? If so, please someone, let me know!
A few months ago ABC exec morons canceled the Life On Mars, the very best cop show in years. Now they dump Unusuals another quirky but interesting show. These were the only 2 shows I liked on ABC, I’ve had it up to here on the force feed reality crap. Seems that good stories and good acting just don’t hack it anymore on ABC.
Back to Fox and other cable networks for new and creative writing.
TO HELL WITH ABC. I AM DONE WITH THEM.
Again, really? It’s going to be a constant repeat. They get rid of the good shows, leaving only what morons like to watch, but it makes sense, after all, America is so fixated on BS reality shows that a show with a good plot and interesting stories will never make it far. They need to cater to those who know nothing, with borderline IQ’s and whose only interests are to watch a show for the physical appearance of the actors/actresses, not for the actual storyline.
I guess I’ll watch CBS more. Life on Mars now The Unusuals. It’s a good thing Seinfeld came out when it did or it would have been cancelled too.
JEEEeeezzz…whaddaya expect? Almost EVERY SHOW with an offbeat premise and/or decent quality gets cancelled: Samantha Who, Life, New Amsterdam, The Unusuals (a modern take on Barney Miller), My Own Worst Enemy…but the boo-sh*t “reality shows” keep on coming! Why? These pieces of crap cost next-to-nothing to produce, that’s why!!! Networks do NOT give shows a chance anymore….when MASH and All In The Family started out, they were NOT hits but they caught on and BECAME hits.
I’m sick of tv stations catering to the brain dead half of the country just because they have nothing better to do than sit and watch tv all day. The people that enjoy shows like the unusuals are the ones with jobs and money. I’m sure I’m not the only one that it takes a few weeks for me to realize theres a new show or be told by word of mouth that theres a new good show on since my day doesn’t involve me sitting on a couch for 12 hours watching all the advertisements. I am considering dropping… Read more »
How awful to cancel every time you get a good series started. This was getting better each episode.. Life on Mars was also very good. Why do you keep cancelling good shows and leaving on crappy reality shows? I am afraid to try any more series. If they are good, you wont keep them on anyway!
I wanted to echo the comments above about ABC canceling The Unusuals, which, like Life on Mars, was well written – a little offbeat and had a terrific cast that really seems to like their characters. I now count on Turner and A&E for any shows of substance. I almost wish we could subscribe to the shows that we like, with half the ads that are running in each show now, and put the junk producers out of business. Time to let some quality stay on the tube.
I love “The Unusuals”! It’s very entertaining and delivers a fresh spin on the typical cop show, much like the 2001 Denis Leary vehicle “The Job”. The characters are quirky and surprisingly multi-deminsional. I’m still bummed over the cancelation of “Life on Mars” and now this……..ABC has lost another viewer – me!
This was a very entertaining show. It was fresh and had good acting, good stories, and good characters. Now there really is nothing worth watching on ABC.
ABC should bring this back… they didn’t give it a chance I enjoyed the show and know others will too
Maybe we fans should start writing to Fox/CBS/NBC to try to get one of them to pick it up. I doubt I will watch anything more than sports on ABC now. I loved Life On Mars as well…
so ABC can show ****** reality tv but they have to cancel good shows like the unusuals? Sure the first episode was a little slow but the rest were amazing. grrrr