The problem with TV shows on the bubble is that for every show you love that’s renewed and given new life, it stands to reason that other shows won’t be as lucky.
So as NBC viewers celebrated renewals for “Community,” “Parks and Recreation” and, well, “Whitney,” it was eventually going to be necessary for the other shoe to drop: According to Deadline.com, NBC has officially cancelled “Awake,” “Bent,” “Best Friends Forever” and “Are You There, Chelsea.”
The biggest sadness will likely come from fans of “Awake.” The Kyle Killen-created drama premiered in March to rave reviews and low (but reasonable by NBC standards) numbers. In its latest airing, “Awake” drew 2.5 million viewers and a 0.9 rating among adults 18-49, figures far below the performance by the already canceled “Prime Suspect” and “The Firm” in the same time period. “Awake” will still complete its 13-episode order by the end of this month, hopefully providing some answers for viewers.
“Bent” had an even rougher road, as NBC opted to air the six-episode comedy in three hour-long blocks, drawing lower-than-negligible ratings.
Both “Best Friends Forever” and “Are You There, Chelsea” struggled in NBC’s weak Wednesday comedy block in the spring.
Meanwhile, “Harry’s Law” star Kathy Bates also tweeted on Friday afternoon that her drama, NBC’s most watched drama, has also been cancelled, though NBC isn’t confirming.
In addition, per Deadline, NBC has also decided not to pick up any additional pilots, with Dane Cook’s “Next Caller” the last pilot to get a greenlight from the network for this development season. We’ll see if that ends up being the case.
Stay tuned…