On Friday, Oct. 24, ABC finally put Manhattan Love Story out of its misery, making it fall’s first canceled new series. It’s the longest we’ve gone into the fall season without a cancellation since 2003, when Fox waited until Oct. 28 to pull the plug on Luis, after five episodes.
At Adweek, I explain why the networks were so patient this fall:
“The growing truth is that picking winners today isn’t as simple as looking at the overnight ratings,” CBS Entertainment chairman Nina Tassler said this summer. And unlike last year, when the networks paid that idea lip service but still quickly moved to cancel several low-rated shows, they’ve actually been practicing what they preach.
Tying in to that Adweek story, I also compiled the first shows to be canceled each fall since 2000 — along with what day they were canceled, and how many episodes had aired — which I was surprised to find that no one else had done previously. (Especially for the earlier shows, that information was tougher to dig up than I had anticipated.) Relive the members of TV’s least prestigious club, from Tucker to Do Not Disturb to (sniff) Lone Star to Lucky 7.
Why It Took So Long for ABC to Cancel ‘Manhattan Love Story’
