Court will soon be adjourned for ABC’s new legal drama. The Whole Truth has been cancelled.
Airing on Wednesday nights, The Whole Truth stars TV veterans Rob Morrow and Maura Tierney. He plays a powerful defense attorney who was raised on the wrong side of the tracks. Tierney is on the opposite side as a Senior Trial Assistant District Attorney whose father was a sheriff. Viewers are shown how each side builds their case, using their own version of “the truth.” The rest of the cast includes Eamonn Walker, Sean Wing, Anthony Ruivivar, and Christine Adams.
For whatever reason, most viewers haven’t been willing to even give the series a try. The legal drama got off to a very poor start right out of the gate. Whole Truth debuted on September 22th to a poor 1. 5 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 4.85 million viewers. The news got even worse in week two and the rating dropped by 20%. The last two episodes seem to have evened off, registering a 1.3 rating and about 4.4 million total viewers.
The Whole Truth’s been ABC’s lowest rated show, attracting an even lower rating than My Generation; another freshman drama that was pulled after just two episodes. Likely because of the caliber of the show’s cast and because it’s being co-produced by Jerry Bruckheimer’s company, ABC has been more patient with it. That doesn’t mean however that they’re going to order any more episodes. ABC has now cancelled The Whole Truth.
Via Twitter, co-executive producer KristieAnne Reed confirmed that the cast and crew will complete the initial 13 episode order but that will be the end. At this point, it’s unclear how many of those will actually air.
Whole Truth remains on the schedule this week but will be preempted next week for the In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts: All Access Nashville interview special. On November 10th, ABC airs the Country Music Awards. Whole Truth is tentatively scheduled to return after that but those plans could certainly change.
Though Whole Truth has been cancelled, there is some positive news for fans of the show. With the news of the cancellation coming this far in advance, producers have time to give the series some closure. The cast and crew are still shooting and are scheduled to continue until mid-December.
What do you think? Should The Whole Truth have been cancelled? Why do you think it didn’t catch on?
Image courtesy ABC.
Sadly, the cancellation seems to reflect the general viewing audience’s growing taste in crap tv. Reality shows that are anything but, dancing with “stars” who aren’t, and sitcoms that aren’t funny. There doesn’t seem to be room for dramas that are well-written,well-acted and have engaging plots.
It’s tempting to blame ABC, but apparently the public cancelled this fine show with very poor ratings. Maybe the network could’ve promoted and marketed it better. In any case,it’s sad.
I’m really sorry to hear that this show is cancelled. I really like the two main characters and the whole concept. In order to save it, I think it should have played on a different night and it might have done a lot better. Wednesday nights had about five new shows this fall and if other people are like me, I had to watch the other new shows too to decide which one to keep watching. My mistake was to watch a different show before the Whole Truth and probably other people did the same. By the time I started… Read more »
Well this really ticks me off!!!!!! I was a big fan of the show and loved the chemistry between Rob and Maura (sp). It was a different twist to see how each side of the law (prosecution and defense) built their case. The viewer could make their own decision and the best part was that you could actually learn the truth at the end of the show. Sometimes with surprising results. Could the producers not have given this show a bit more time? A bit more advertising of the show? Boy! If a show doesn’t hit the jackpot right out… Read more »
NO! I LOVED this show! I was hooked from show one and it’s been on my weekly show list since.
loved this show – it was finally something that was not a reality show but a real series with interest – bring it back
LOVED THIS SHOW, IT WAS FUNNY, MODERN, AND EVERY SHOW HAD A GREAT ENDING. IT IS SO ANNOYING THAT THIS KEEPS HAPPINING. I THINK YOU SHOULD ONLY WATCH A SHOW IF IT MAKES IT TO THE SECOND SEASON. I PICK OUT SHOWS I THINK I WILL ENJOY AT THE START OF THE SEASON AND I REALLY LOVED THIS ONE. ITS A SHAME.
WHY do you keep cancelling all the shows I love!!!!! What about the people that did give it a chance and liked it! This is very upsetting and it has been happening to all the shows I love so now the only night I have to look foward to is Thursdays!!! Thanks alot TV world!
This is too bad. I really loved the show. It ‘s a different take on court dramas. I wish they would reconsider, as I looked forward to it each week. One problem may be that so many shows are introduced in the fall and on so many different channels it is hard to keep track. Maybe if the show continued the viewers would increase, I know I have told several people about the show.
I am disappointed with the ABC decision. This was my favorite new show. I thought it was smart and I had just started telling people how good it was. I loved the cast, the clever story telling and the endings of every episode.
Loved the show and cannot believe it has been cancelled.
I am so very disappointed. I love to watch these characters interact with each other. Every episode has been interesting and I keep coming back for more. Why do they always take off the good shows and keep returning with more and more reality shows? Can’t they figure out that some of us want real tv not annoying ridiculous reality TV?
Bummer!!!! This was a great show, with great leading characters. It’s time slot probably worked against it. Couldn’t they have at least tried another time before cancelling? ABC has a history of “wrong-slotting” and cancelling some excellent shows. This year there are about 7 prime time shows I watch regularly and only one is ABC, and it’s a carry-over from last year.
You guys have lost it!!! Can’t you give a show a few more weeks to build. I remember how slow 30 Rock was to catch on.
ABC is ******** up royal with Dancing with the Stars voter fraud and canceling the Whole Truth.
My husband and I love it–we love Rob Morrow & Maura Tierney!!! The writing and plots were excellent.
ABC replaced it with crap like Celebrity Plastic Surgery, Celebrity Hemorrhoids, Sexiest Rodents on earth, etc.
ABC is going down the tubes and I, for one (in their demographic), will help it. I’m spreading the word on the boycott!
Big mistake. I loved this show. I’m starting to hate tv for their canceling of quality shows.
I really enjoyed this show. I am a fan of both lead characters and thought the show was doing well. I was very disappointed at this news. Will somebody shop the show to TBS, TNT, or USA? They have taken cancelled shows from all the major networks and made them work including Monk, Law & Order Criminal Intent and Southland, just to name a few. Please someone, give the show another chance.