Just days after FOX decimated its entire stack of bubble shows, ABC has nearly repeated the trick, clearing out at least five dramas and two comedies to make room for a heaping pile of fresh pickups.
We’ll get to the pickups, which include “Charlie’s Angels” and more, in a separate story, but first let’s mourn the passing of “Brothers & Sisters,” “V,” “No Ordinary Family,” “Detroit 1-8-7,” “Off the Map,” “Mr. Sunshine” and “Better With You,” which have all been given their walking papers, according to a wide variety of media reports.
The biggest surprise of that group was “Brothers & Sisters.” As recently as last week, there were reports that the long-running Emmy-winning drama might return for a truncated sixth season, possibly with only a limited dose of Calista Flockhart. Instead, ABC has opted not to renew the family drama, which earned Sally Field an Emmy and ran for 109 episodes, ending with what was now a series finale last Sunday.
Sci-fi fans also had hopes for “V,” which struggled in its two seasons, but was also bounced around ABC’s schedule with an aggressiveness that led some people to believe that with a stable time slot and premiere date and episode order, it might develop an audience.
“No Ordinary Family” and “Detroit 1-8-7” experienced some critical support and some network enthusiasm, but both shows also dealt with reduced episode orders, random preemptions and out-of-time-slot burnoff airings. “Off the Map” at least aired its allotment of 13 episodes, but the Shonda Rhimes
drama generated such low ratings there was never any real likelihood of renewal.
On the comedy front, “Better with You” aired its full compliment of episodes, but lost too much of its lead-in from “The Middle,” while failing to generate any real buzz. Also suffering from too much viewer attrition was the Matthew Perry vehicle “Mr. Sunshine,” which aired after “Modern Family” for much of the spring.
Check out the updated fates of all of your favorite 2011 TV Shows on the Bubble.