What About Brian debuted on ABC on April 16, 2006 with the first of five initial episodes. The series follows the story of Brian Davis (7th Heaven alumni Barry Watson) as a “third wheel” in a group of close-knit friends and couples. The series also stars Sarah Lancaster, Rosanna Arquette, Matthew Davis, Rick Gomez, Amanda Detmer, Jason George, Amanda Foreman, Tiffani Thiessen, and Jessica Szohr.
Following the initial season’s ratings, it seemed fairly certain that the series would not return for another. ABC surprised many by renewing the series with an initial order of 13 episodes for a second season for Fall 2007. When the show returned on October 9th, ABC seemed encouraged by its early second season performance. On November 10th, ABC increased the 13 episode order to a full 22.
So, with the March 26th episode only marking the 19th episode, some are wondering if this means that there are three episodes that haven’t been aired? In short, no. Shortly after ABC gave the additional episode order in November, the ratings dropped by about 20%. A network rep has confirmed to us that the episode order was trimmed back, though this was not officially announced. Losing three episodes likely made it difficult for the producers to end the season as they would have liked.
ABC has already announced that 11 of its series have been renewed for next year. What About Brian wasn’t one of them. With the drop in viewership and its shortened season, it’s unlikely that ABC has enough faith in the show to give it another chance.
We’ll probably know Brian’s fate by mid-May when the network announces its full Fall schedule. Until then, Brian viewers can take sollace in knowing that they’ve seen all of the episodes that were produced. Fans of other ABC shows like Big Day haven’t been as lucky. Stay tuned!
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