There will be no more country music on ABC. After four seasons, the network has cancelled Nashville, the drama starring Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere. But ABC has a lot more in store for today, with renewal and cancellation decisions on many other shows like The Catch, Agent Carter, American Crime, The Real O’Neals and more. Keep reading to see what’s gone and what’s coming back.
CANCELLED
ABC Cancels Castle After 8 Season>>
Nashville: The show started strong and even earned Britton an Emmy nomination for Lead Actress in its first season. But the ratings declined throughout the years, with most recent episodes dropping below 4 million viewers. There were initially reports that new showrunners were being brought in for a potential fifth season, but the costs of filming were too high for the network to proceed. Now the May 25 season 4 finale will serve as the series finale for Nashville.
Agent Carter: After two seasons, Marvel’s prequel about young secret agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) has been cancelled.
The Family: The freshman drama which airs Sundays at 9pm and stars Joan Allen, will join Blood and Oil, Wicked City and Of Kings and Prophets on the first-year scrap heap.
The Muppets: After one failed season, ABC has cancelled its rebooted version of the classic Muppets.
Galavant: After two seasons, this musical fairy tale event series has come to an end. The only surprise is that it got a second season in the first place. And don’t feel too bad, because the creators are already working on turning it into a stage musical for Broadway.
RENEWED
The Catch: ABC’s latest ShondaLand drama starring Mireille Enos and Peter Krause has been renewed for season 2. It joins Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, plus a new drama Still Star-Crossed that was just picked up. This means Shonda Rhimes is now an EP on five different dramas for ABC, the same as Greg Berlanti on the CW and Dick Wolf on NBC.
American Crime: The critically-acclaimed and Emmy-winning anthology series from Oscar-winner John Ridley will be back for a third season with another new story and new cast of characters.
The Real O’Neals: This freshman comedy starring Martha Plimpton as the Catholic mother of a gay teenage son has been picked up for season 2. The show joins a long list of ABC’s successful comedy formula of quirky but lovable families, including The Middle, Modern Family, black-ish, The Goldbergs and Fresh Off the Boat.
Dr. Ken: Despite being relatively quiet on Friday nights. Ken Jeong’s sitcom has been renewed for a second season.
Last Man Standing: Once again, Tim Allen’s sitcom lives on at the last minute as the show will enter season 6.
NEW SHOWS
Still Star-Crossed: ABC has ordered Shonda Rhimes’ fifth drama to series, Still Star-Crossed. The period drama is a sequel to Romeo and Juliet, following the aftermath of the two teen lovers committing suicide. It stars Buffy‘s Anthony Head and Reign‘s Torrance Coombs.
Conviction: Before you get too sad about the end of Agent Carter, its star Hayley Atwell will still be on ABC next season. Atwell stars in this legal drama as a former First Daughter who gets roped into joining a special unit of the DA’s office dedicated to looking into potential wrongful convictions. It also stars Eddie Cahill, Emily Kinney and Merrin Dungey, who happens to be the sister of ABC’s new network president.
Time After Time: Joining the time travel bandwagon, this drama stars UnREAL‘s Freddie Stroma as H.G. Wells who travels to the present to track Jack the Ripper, played by Revenge‘s Josh Bowman.
Notorious: This soapy drama looks at the way criminal defense attornies interact with the media. It stars Piper Perabo, Daniel Sunjata, Aimee Teegarden and Ryan Guzman.
Downward Dog: This comedy stars Fargo‘s Alison Tolman as a millenial whose struggles are told from the POV of her dog.
The Second Fattest Housewife in Westport: This comedy is going to change its title, but it stars Katy Mixon as a plump housewife in a rich and “perfect” Connecticut town.
Imaginary Mary: Jenna Elfman stars in this comedy about a woman who falls in love with a divorced dad with three kids, and her life gets even more complicated when her childhood imaginary friend starts showing up again.
Speechless: Minnie Driver stars in this comedy about a family with a special needs child.
ABC will reveal its full schedule and line-up for the 2016-2017 season on Tuesday, May 17.
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
