And then there was only one.
On Friday (May 8), NBC officially cancelled “About a Boy,” “Marry Me” and “One Big Happy,” leaving “Undateable” as the network's only hope to avoid going into the 2015-2016 season without a single returning comedy.
[There's some pretty wild, if not implausible speculation out there about the nature of a potential third “Undateable” season and I've been told it's nowhere close to locked down. That doesn't mean it won't happen. It just means that I'm trying to be professional and only report things I can confirm and I can't confirm a darned thing about “Undateable,” which is good news in this case.]
Neither “About a Boy” nor “Marry Me” has aired since February and even with many/most of their airings boosted by “The Voice,” neither had the numbers to generate much of a renewal conversation. “Marry Me” averaged 3.8 million viewers and a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49 — again, boosted by “The Voice” — while “About a Boy” slipped to 3.5 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating in its second season.
This is “About a Boy” showrunner Jason Katims' second series to end on NBC this year after the slightly-more-planned close to “Parenthood.” Katims has a direct-to-series order for “The Way” at Hulu, so he's OK.
In what ended up being its series finale last Tuesday, the Ellen DeGeneres-produced “One Big Happy” drew 3.08 million viewers and did a 0.8 rating among adults 18-49.
And yes, “Happy Endings” fans, with Elisha Cuthbert and Casey Wilson liberated from their NBC comedies and “Weird Loners” considered an inevitable casualty at FOX, all of that show's stars will be available again. Thus far, none of the “Happy Endings” writers have teased fans with the prospect of any revivals, suggesting they may have learned a lesson from the April Fools fiasco.
Thus far, NBC's other Friday Bubble cancellations have included “State of Affairs” and “Constantine.”
With or without “Undateable,” NBC will be largely restocking its comedy chest next season. Thus far, the network has ordered “Superstore,” “Crowded” and “People Are Talking,” along with earlier orders for Eva Longoria's “Telenovela” and the “Coach” revival.
NBC will announce its full schedule on Sunday, May 11.
BubbleWatch 2015 Gallery Updated With All The Announced Renewals & Cancellations.