It’s that time of year again. As the networks are gearing up with their new pilots, signing big stars, and looking over at the ratings of their existing shows, we can expect that several may not be long for this world. Based on their ratings so far, the 12 shows below — unfortunately, in some cases — are the most likely to be sh*tcanned.
FOX
Almost Human — The ratings aren’t terrible but they’re not good enough to justify the expense of the drama. Fox is already airing episodes out of order, and the netowrk hasn’t ordered any additional scripts. Monday’s already a tough night, and with ratings sinking on Almost Human, it’s unlikely to return.
Raising Hope — The ratings are absolutely dismal on Friday nights. Our only hope is that the lure of syndication money might save Raising Hope, but it’s very, very unlikely.
Enlisted — My favorite new sitcom of the season, Enlisted has been terrific through five episodes. Unfortunately, they introduced it on a Friday night, and with ratings as bad as they are, it’s unlikely that Fox will even give it a shot in a better time slot to see if it can pick up any new viewers. It’s a lost cause, and this one hurts.
Dads — Dads is all but officially cancelled. Fox ended the series run last week after shortening its order, and has no future plans for it. It had bad ratings and the critics hated it. The only reason to bring it back might be to keep Seth MacFarlane happy, but he’s got movie money now, so what does he care?
Rake — The Greg Kinnear “quirky” legal drama never found an audience on Thursday nights, despite is American Idol lead-in, and for good reason: It’s not very good. It’s another high-profile bomb. I wish they’d given this time slot to Enlisted.
CBS
Intelligence — The Josh Holloway procedural gets OK ratings, and if it were on another network, it might survive. But not on CBS, where they expect far more old people to tune in. Critics abandoned it after the pilot, and it has no champions to defend it at the network.
Hostages — The limited series run with Toni Collette and Dylan McDermott will almost certainly be limited to one season.
ABC
The Neighbors — The Friday night graveyard takes another victim. Most of us were surprised this show even made it through the first season before being cancelled. It was actually not bad, either.
Trophy Wife — Another painful loss, Trophy Wife is bleeding viewers after The Goldbergs, which itself isn’t getting exactly stellar ratings. It’s a shame, too, because Trophy Wife is one of the better sitcoms on network television, and I’m going to miss Malin Akerman on the small screen next year (save for Children’s Hospital).
Super Fun Night — The Rebel Wilson series had a lot of hype leading into the season, and I had heard from a fan that it had gotten better (I checked out a recent episode, and I beg to differ). It hasn’t held on to its Modern Family lead-in well at all. Super Fun Night is a goner.
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland — The Once Upon a Time spin-off on Thursdays opened with very soft ratings, and it hasn’t improved. Crash and burn.
Killer Women — The fact that ABC reduced the short order to an even shorter order did not bode well for this show. The fact that it was reviled by critics didn’t help.
Betrayal — It hasn’t been officially cancelled yet, but there was already some soft murmurings of an online petition to save the series after its finale last month. Those murmurings won’t be enough to save it.
NBC
Believe it or not, NBC has already cancelled its low-rated series: The Michael J. Fox Show, Sean Saves the World, and Welcome to the Family. With Parks and Recreation already renewed, and Community liked to be renewed, there’s nothing left for NBC to cancel.