FOX announced on Monday that Raising Hope is being cancelled after four seasons on the air.
The comedy, starring Martha Plimpton, Cloris Leachman, Garrett Dillahunt, Lucas Neff, Shannon Woodward and Gregg Binkley, follows a dysfunctional family as they raise a little girl named Hope.
“On behalf of myself, Greg Garcia and Raising Hope‘s amazing cast and crew, I would like to thank our audience for tuning in and supporting us over the last four seasons,” executive producer Mike Mariano said in a press release. “We planned our season 4 finale with this possibility in mind, and hope our loyal fans enjoy the way we’ve chosen to say goodbye to the Chances and to Natesville. Thanks again, and we’ll see you in syndication.”
Kevin Reilly, FOX’s Chairman of Entertainment, and Joe Earley, COO, added, “Getting to know and love the Chance family on Raising Hope has been a sweet, hilarious ride. Thanks to the incredibly talented cast — along with Greg, Mike and the entire crew — for making us laugh for four fantastic seasons.”
The one-hour series finale (consisting of the final two episodes) will air on Friday, April 4 at 9pm. The first half-hour, “How I Met Your Mullet,” will include guest star Lesley Nicol as Jimmy and Sabrina’s new maid. In the final episode, “The Father Daughter Dance,” Jeffrey Tambor arrives as Virginia’s father, who has a surprise for his daughter and Burt. The finale also features a musical performance by Kenny Loggins.
Raising Hope first premiered in 2010 with an average of 6.4 million viewers during its freshman outing. The current (and now-final) season has been averaging 2.7 million viewers, according to Entertainment Weekly. The comedy has received a handful of award nominations over the years, including at the Emmys, where Martha Plimpton was up for Lead Actress and Cloris Leachman nominated for Guest Actress in 2011.
There was uncertainty recently over the future of Raising Hope, especially after FOX renewed three of its other comedies: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Mindy Project and New Girl. On the comedy side, all that’s left now for the network to either renew or cancel are Dads and Enlisted.
Are you disappointed that Raising Hope has been cancelled, or is it the right time to end the series? Will you be tuning in to the one-hour finale in April?
Raising Hope airs Fridays at 9:30pm on FOX.
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
Jeff Dodge, a graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena.
