NBC cancels ‘1600 Penn’ and ‘Whitney’

After only one term in office, NBC has impeached the White House comedy “1600 Penn,” while the news was also bad for second-year comedy “Whitney.”
Series co-creator Jon Lovett confirmed the cancellation on Thursday (May 9) afternoon when he tweeted “It’s official. 1600 Penn is a cult classic.”
NBC somewhat confirmed the news earlier in the day by picking up Jason Katims’ small-screen version of “About a Boy,” which features “1600 Penn” co-star Benjamin Stockham in a key role opposite David Walton and Minnie Driver.
Of course, neither Lovett’s tweet, nor NBC’s order for a show featuring a “1600 Penn” co-star were actually required for anybody who looked at the numbers for the low-rated comedy. Although NBC aired the full run of “1600 Penn,” even with Live + 7 DVR bump included, it only averaged a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49 and under 3.6 million total viewers.
NBC sources also confirm that “Whitney” will not be returning for a third season. A semi-surprise renewal last spring, the Whitney Cummings sitcom averaged under 4.5 million viewers and a 1.7 key demo rating, again including DVR totals.
Check out all of the recent Renewals — Yay, “Parks and Recreation” — and Cancellations in our 2013 TV Shows on the Bubble gallery.
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