FOX Bubble Bloodbath: ‘Human Target,’ ‘Breaking In,’ ‘Lie to Me’ canceled

It was a bad day to be on the bubble for FOX.

 

In the space of a couple hours on Tuesday (May 10) evening, news broke that FOX was canceling every single one of its in-limbo dramas and comedies.

 

Every one.

 

HitFix was first to tell you that FOX wasn’t moving forward with a second season of “The Chicago Code,” making it creator Shawn Ryan’s second one-season-wonder in the past year after FX’s late, lamented “Terriers.” 

 

But that wasn’t all.

 

Conventional wisdom had FOX choosing between “The Chicago Code,” “Human Target” and “Lie to Me” for one or two slots on next year’s schedule.

 

Wrong. After 25 episodes (over two seasons) and 48 episodes (over three weirdly scheduled seasons), FOX has pulled the plug on both “Human Target” and “Lie to Me.” As a sad note, Shawn Ryan spent a season as showrunner on “Lie to Me,” making it a double-downer evening for the “Shield” mastermind.

 

In the midst of this carnage, “Fringe” fans should remain astounded that their little cult drama — which draws few viewers and worse demo numbers than “Chicago Code,” “Human Target” or “Lie to Me” — was already ordered for a full fourth season.

 

Would FOX show more mercy to its bubble comedies? 

 

Nope. 

 

As reported by Deadline.com (and everybody else), FOX has also cancelled “Traffic Light” and “Breaking In.”

 

The “Traffic Light” cancellation wasn’t much of a surprise. In its most recent airing, the relationship comedy drew under 3 million viewers and did a 1.2 demo rating. While NBC renewed “Community” with numbers only slightly better than that, FOX isn’t NBC (and “Traffic Light” isn’t “Community”).

 

“Breaking In” wasn’t a sure-thing for a renewal, but its latest episode drew more than 7 million viewers and did a 2.5 rating among adults 18-49, helped a wee bit by “American Idol.”

 

The comedy becomes star Christian Slater’s third straight TV series (on three different networks) to be cancelled without completing a full first season. In fact, “Breaking In” will end up airing fewer episodes than either “My Own Worst Enemy” or “The Forgotten.”