On Tuesday night, FOX surprised everyone by ruthlessly canceling its slate of bubble shows, including the mid-season comedy, Breaking In. The move, which seemed to indicate FOX’s lack of patience when it comes to mid-rated shows, opened up space for four pilots set to debut in the fall. Now, however, it’s looking like Breaking In may be around to join them.
How many chances does one show get?
While the situation is far from resolved, Deadline.com reports the FOX is currently negotiating with the show’s producer, Sony Pictures TV, about getting the show back on the air.
If this did in fact happen, Breaking In would have the rare and dubious honor of returning from certain doom not once, but twice. The show was originally in contention for a spot in the 2010-2011 fall schedule on FOX, but the network decided against it. With shows like Running Wilde dying a slow death, the door was reopened for Breaking In at mid-season. Debuting after American Idol (always a nice thing), the program started out with FOX’s highest comedy ratings in years.
And then the ratings slipped, as ratings are wont to do. This slippage proved to be disastrous: only a few episodes into Breaking In‘s short season, cancellation struck.
Breaking In had plenty of company in its cancellation misery. The dramas Human Target, Lie to Me and The Chicago Code were also canceled, as was the comedy Traffic Light. Unlike many failed shows, each of the FOX cancellations had achieved support either from critics or fans. The downfall of Lie to Me, a critically-lauded show with a devoted fan base, was met with particular upset.
Does Breaking In have a chance? Will salvation stick this time? Is Breaking In set to go down as yet another failure in the inexplicably unsuccessful television careers of stars Christian Slater and Bret Harrison? Or will this potential reprieve earn Breaking In one more chance?
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Laurel grew up in Mamaroneck, NY, Grosse Pointe, MI and Bellevue WA. She then went on to live in places like Boston, Tucson, Houston, Wales, Tanzania, Prince Edward Island and New York City before heading back to Seattle. Ever since early childhood, when she became addicted to The Muppet Show, Laurel has watched far too much TV. Current favorites include Chuck, Modern Family, Supernatural, Mad Men and Community. Laurel received a BA in Astrophysics (yes, that is possible) from Colgate University and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies and History of Science from Columbia University before she realized that television is much better than studying.
