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.
I agree that ABC has not given this long enough to give a fair review. It has two great lead actors in Maura and Rob. I wish ABC had given it time for others to find the show because I know it would have developed a following.
Hope they let us know when the last episodes will begin airing again.
This was a great show. They never really gave it a chance as they kept showing other things in its time slot. It was also up against another good show on another chanel which didn’t help. I hope that it airs again or that it comes out on dvd.
Once again ABC has given me a monumental reason to ignore it entirely. I have been a enthusiastic fan of Rob Morrow since Northern Exposure. His CBS HIT show “NUMBERS” did not really give Rob the opportunity to demonstrate his broad range of acting skills. This was one of the few intelligent shows on television that wasn’t LAW and Order or produced by British Television. I worked for an ABC affiliate in the ’70’s and even then the Network tinkered with the programming schedule until the show went off the air. Julie Andrews had a very popular show at the… Read more »
I love this show but hate that they keep repeating parts and I think that was the problem from the start. I love Rob Morrow (and have since “Northern Exposure”) and Maura Tierney. I’m hoping we get to see all 13 episodes and also hope that these two actors get paired up again.
what a shame that the talent this series has is being cancelled.Maura Tierney is the best actress there is today.Why do we have to endure the brainless trash on t.v. today .To keep Americans stupid no doubt.There was actually something on to look forward to.
I’m amazed at how viewership has become so dumbed down . The Whole Truth was an intelligent, well written legal show that managed to be entertaining ,interesting and sexy. Would it kill viewers to watch a show with seasoned actors? What are people watching???
This show was GREAT I am very disappointed that it has been cancelled. I continued to look each Wed to see when it was on. I know several ladies who enjoyed this show. Please bring it back.
It’s sad to see a quality program cancelled so soon. I loved the series and would like to see the networks be more patient with fledling shows. This program deserves a chance
I liked some of the droma’s a great deal but did not care for the format
Im seriously very disappointed about this..they shouldnt have.they should of kept on till season 2..but noooo,some ppl just wanna see wack show that has no meaning..this show had alot of meanings and experience,especially a way of showing teens and people like me who wanna be a lawyer.it does teaches alot..and its worth ,,this show was worth my time watching it i love it..it was a real thing not fake like the other shows that has no good things to show..aint enough.i think ABC is making a big mistake.they should of waited a bit longer…very disappointed.i never expected this
I was hooked enough after the pilot to keep watching. Now I find myself very disappointed that this will not continue. Imagine a show that has women with brains and beauty!!! It’s no wonder the networks are cancelling – they have to make room for all the brainless, thoughtless reality shows.
It is dissappointing that this show has been cancelled. It is a fresh approach to court drama, with a cast that pulls off believability. The advisarial relationships are pulled off providing the audience with personalities that are positive rather than villainous. Well done!
The networks do not give these new shows enough time for the audience to get to know the characters before they make a decision to cancel the show. With so many new shows hitting the schedule all at once, it is impossible to see all of them when they are first aired. Haven’t the networks heard of digital recorders? If the series was missed when it was aired, but recorded and watched later, it is too late when you discover it is a good show, after it has already been canceled!! Maybe we shouldn’t watch any of their new shows!… Read more »
I really enjoyed The Whole Truth – good actors, etc. I was very surprised that it was cancelled. There are so many dumb shows that continue to be aired, please reconsider. Is it possible that another network will pick it up? I hope so.
This was the only legal drama worth watching. Chemistry between the characters was perfect and the show was great. How disappointing!
This was a great show that made you think. What a refreshing change from the endless reality shows. I think the network should accept responsibility for not advertising the difference in this program. Great acting with good material.What a shame!