It will be 13-episodes-and-out for the FOX robot procedural “Almost Human.”
News of the “Almost Human” cancellation first broke on Tuesday (April 29) evening on Deadline.com and HitFix can now confirm that the J.J. Abrams-produced drama will not be back next season, a victim either of lackluster ratings or of FOX's already-aggressive plans for next season.
FOX got “Almost Human” off to a bumpy start when it delayed its early November premiere just two weeks before launch, though a special Sunday airing helped get a sampling of 9 million-plus viewers. Despite occasional preemptions and an erratic air schedule in December and January, “Almost Human” averaged a very respectable 6.2 million viewers and a 1.9 rating among adults 18-49 for its season, along with a solid DVR bump. Although the “Almost Human” numbers were flagging a little toward the end, it still did a 1.5 key demo rating for its finale in March, identical to the April finale numbers for “The Following,” which was gifted with an early renewal. Both dramas come from Warner Brothers TV.
“Almost Human” starred Karl Urban, Michael Ealy and Minka Kelly.
In my BubbleWatch gallery, I compared “Almost Human” to “Terra Nova,” “Chicago Code” and “Lie To Me” among recent FOX dramas that generated respectable-but-unremarkable audiences, but failed to generate the required internal passion to be renewed. Whenever FOX cancels a sci-fi show, you also get the normal “FOX kills sci-fi shows dead!” complaining, even if that outrage ignores that “Almost Human” creator J.H. Wyman's “Fringe” got five full seasons and 100 episodes only because it aired on FOX and that “Dollhouse” and “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” were both sci-fi dramas that probably wouldn't have gotten second seasons on any other network. The bottom line? FOX cancels some sci-fi dramas and doesn't cancel others.
The reality is that FOX's slate for next year is already absurdly full. The network has already ordered new dramas “Heiroglyph” and “Backstrom” to series, while the fall drama “Sleepy Hollow” was also picked up for a second season. While recent reports have specified that “Gotham” has a “series commitment” rather than a “series order” — FOX can choose not to pick up the “Batman” prequel, but it would face a penalty — it's considered a very strong player for a pickup, as are several other high profile dramas.
FOX's only other remaining bubble drama is “Rake.” And yes, that's a joke. The network does, however, have “Enlisted” and “Surviving Jack,” which I like, and “Dads,” which I don't really care for, on the comedy bubble. The Deadline story sounds disturbingly optimistic regarding “Dads.”
Will you miss “Almost Human”?