With 24 new network shows airing in Fall 2014, from dramas to comedies to a reality show, viewers will have plenty to choose from. But while some shows are bound to last a long time, others are destined for early cancellation.
Every year there are quite a few new shows that only last a handful of episodes, with most eventually getting cancelled after a single season. Which shows should you probably avoid getting attached to? I have three strong suggestions.
First, here’s a look at the first shows to be cancelled in each of the last six seasons:
2013: ABC’s Lucky 7 (2 episodes)
2012: CBS’ Made in Jersey (2 episodes)
2011: NBC’s The Playboy Club (3 episodes)
2010: FOX’s Lone Star (2 episodes)
2009: The CW’s The Beautiful Life (2 episodes)
2008: FOX’s Do Not Disturb (3 episodes)
As you can see, it shouldn’t take very long for us to get our first casualty of the fall season, so here are my top three contenders to take home that honor this year.
The Mysteries of Laura (NBC, premieres Wednesday, September 17 at 10pm, airs regularly Wednesdays at 8pm)
America’s Got Talent is a huge hit for NBC in the summer, and once again the network is using the big finale to launch a new show, Debra Messing’s mom cop dramedy The Mysteries of Laura. NBC tried using AGT to launch a new drama four years ago, Jimmy Smits’ Outlaw. That didn’t end well.
The Mysteries of Laura is such a schizophrenic show that it will almost certainly bomb. It tries to be a wacky family comedy about a tough mom raising unruly twin boys as well as a standard police procedural. The biggest problem, and one that will almost certainly spell its demise, is that Messing is the least believable homicide detective in the history of TV. Andy Samberg’s character on Brooklyn Nine-Nine seems more based in reality than this show’s leading lady. And jokes about Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” just make the show feel dated.
Forever (ABC, premieres Monday, September 22 at 10pm, airs regularly Tuesdays at 10pm)
Sometimes a time slot can automatically kill a show. Take Tuesdays at 10pm on ABC, for example. Last year it was home to the first axed show of the season (Lucky 7, after just two episodes) and it was also the time slot for Killer Women and Mind Games, two other quickly-cancelled shows at mid-season.
It doesn’t help that this show feels like a carbon copy of all the other crime procedurals out there, with a quirky yet brilliant leading man whose deductive skills rival those of Sherlock Holmes. The only twist is that the main character here is magically immortal and comes back to life every time he dies. That kind of ruins any dramatic tension, doesn’t it?
Mulaney (FOX, premieres Sunday, October 5 at 9:30pm)
This FOX sitcom is being pitched as the new Seinfeld, a show about a stand-up comedian and his wacky friends. It feels more like something that should’ve existed in the ’90s, not today. And being aired as part of the traditional “Animation Domination” block doesn’t bode well for a live-action series.
Even worse, in the last eight years FOX has aired nine new multi-camera sitcoms, and only one (‘Til Death) lasted for longer than a single season. The others read like the first line of the inevitable eulogy for when Mulaney gets cancelled: Dads, I Hate My Teenage Daughter, Brothers, Do Not Disturb, Back to You, The Return of Jezebel James, Happy Hour and The Winner.
Which show do you think will be the first cancellation of the Fall 2014 season? Or are you excited about any of my picks?
(Image courtesy of NBC)
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.
