Broadcast ax: All the shows canceled this week, and why

Broadcast networks are doing their annual “re-accommodating” of under-performing shows, canceling dozens of series. Here are all the axed shows from the past couple weeks, along with how long they lasted, their ratings, and some insight into why each got canned. Refresh for the latest version as this post will updated all this week as more verdicts come in from the networks.

CBS

2 Broke Girls
Seasons: 6
Ratings: 7 million viewers; 1.9 adults 18-49 rating (average during the season including DVR)
Ownership has been a deciding factor in many cancellations this year. While 2 Broke Girls didn’t have terrible ratings, it was owned by an outside studio (Warner Bros.) and was struggling compared to some other CBS titles. CBS tends to be rather strict about pruning its underperformers and so 2 Broke Girls — a veteran that would have probably slipped into another season at some of the other networks — was booted from the lineup.

Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders
Seasons: 2
Ratings: 6.6 million viewers; 1.2 demo
Unlike with CSI and NCIS, CBS has long struggled to spin-off Minds. Beyond Borders was given a second chance last year, but won’t get a third.

The Great Indoors
Seasons: 1
Ratings: 8.4 million viewers; 1.8 adults 18-49 rating
Wait: This comedy was watched by an average of 8.4 million viewers … and still got canceled? Yup. The Joel McHale comedy benefited from a huge lead-in this season on Thursdays from The Big Bang Theory. But when CBS recently moved the show on Mondays to see how Indoors would before without Big Bang, ratings plummeted to around 4 million viewers and a 0.8 earlier this month.

The Odd Couple
Seasons: 3
Ratings: 6 million viewers; 1.3 demo
Squeaked into renewals its first two years, but was the network’s lowest-rated comedy this season.

NBC

Timeless
Seasons: 1
Ratings: 8 million viewers; 2.1 demo
Arguably the cancellation which prompted the most distress from fans online — and the most hope of landing somewhere else. At first glance, the axing looks unfair — 8 million viewers! — but ratings dropped sharply during the season. The show being owned by an outside studio (Sony) instead of NBC hurt its odds too. We’re hearing it’s still possible the time-travel drama could be rescued by another network, so stay tuned. UPDATE: Surprise!NBC reversed course and renewed Timeless, giving the show a 10-episode, second season order to air in spring or summer 2018. A very rare reversal by a network.

Emerald City
Seasons: 1
Ratings: 4.7 million viewers; 1.3 demo
The oft-delayed fantasy tried to mix the Land of Oz with some Game of Thrones vibes, but even a wizard couldn’t save it.

Powerless
Seasons: 1
Ratings: 2.9 million viewers; 1.0 demo
DC Comics went for a superhero-themed series that was a comedy (instead of a drama) and about ordinary people (instead of superheroes). So… yeah.

Blacklist: Redemption
Seasons: 1
Ratings: 6.2 million viewers; 1.2 demo
With both The Blacklist and its spinoff struggling this season, it’s no surprise the network would consolidate by axing the much lower rated of the two.

FOX

APB
Seasons: 1
Rating: 5.1 million viewers; 1.2 demo
With that ultra generic title and lack of star names, this cop drama had a very tough time getting buzz.

Making History
Seasons: 1
Ratings: 1.8 million viewers; 0.8 demo
Time-travel shows were one of the clearest trends of the 2016-17 season, but all three met the same fate, including this comedy (the third was ABC’s Time After Time, canceled earlier this year).

Pitch
Seasons: 1
Ratings: 4.7 million; 1.4 in demo
There was once a faint glimmer of hope for this well-regarded baseball drama coming back in the fall, but it struck out anyway.

Rosewood
Seasons: 2
Ratings: 4.3 million viewers; 1.0 demo
Struggled to stay aloft as well as its forensic crime drama predecessor Bones. Managed a renewal last season, but not this time.

Prison Break
Seasons 5
Ratings: 4 million viewers; 1.5 demo
Not officially canceled — executives say it will probably be back at some point … but there are no plans for next season.

Scream Queens
Seasons: 2
Ratings: 2.3 million viewers; 1.0 demo
Officially, executives say the anthology “was a complete story” after two seasons, but of course it’s about those ratings which far scarier than the show.

Sleepy Hollow
Seasons: 4
Ratings: 3.3 million viewers; 0.9 demo
If a drama survives its first couple seasons, it’s typically got a good shot a lasting a few more. But Sleepy Hollow has long struggled to find a stable groove — starting strong its debut season, then undergoing creative overhauls as ratings kept falling. Fox would have loved to keep it going, but this year’s numbers gave the network little choice.

Son of Zorn
Seasons: 1
Ratings: 3.2 million viewers; 1.4 in demo
Ratings were the same for this live action/animation hybrid as the renewed Last Man on Earth — but without the critical accolades, which made all the difference.

ABC

American Crime
Seasons: 3
Ratings: 3.2 million viewers; 0.7 demo
By the numbers, this was a no-brainer — this is well below the line for a broadcast drama series. But American Crime was a tough call due to all those Emmy nominations, it’s the type of recognition broadcast networks struggle to get nowadays when cable and streaming networks dominate award shows. Ultimately, the ratings math was too brutal.

The Catch
Seasons: 2
Ratings: 4.6 million viewers; 1.0 rating
It’s not every day ABC cancels a Shonda Rhimes drama, but The Catch never gelled with viewers despite a creative overhaul to become more of a rom-com (ABC also announced that next season will be the final edition of Scandal).

Last Man Standing
Seasons: 6
Ratings: 8.1 million; 1.6 demo
One of the few veteran shows on a list full of freshman and sophomore titles, Tim Allen’s comedy has been a bubble show for years, keeping under the radar by filling a tough slot on Friday nights. It’s luck finally ran out.

Dr. Ken
Seasons: 2
Ratings: 5.1 million viewers, 1.1
Given that Dr. Ken and Last Man Standing were both axed, we suspect ABC has something entirely different than comedies planned for that Friday night hour leading into Shark Tank next season. Networks reveal their schedules next week so we shall see…

Imaginary Mary
Seasons: 1
Ratings 3.6 million viewers; 1.0
We’re pretty sure this was a real show.

The Real O’Neals
Seasons: 2
Ratings: 3.7 million viewers; 1.2 rating
Unofficially dead for a while now.

The CW

Frequency
Seasons: 1
Ratings: 1.5 million viewers; 0.4 demo
Maybe star Peyton List’s CBS drama pilot, Mission Control, will get picked up to series?

No Tomorrow
Seasons: 1
Ratings: 1 million viewers; 0.3 demo
As the lowest-rated show on this list, No Tomorrow never stood a chance.

What about the rest of the at-risk bubble shows? Our Deathwatch predictions have you covered. There you’ll find the rundown of all 53 bubble shows, their current status and our prediction for their fate. So far we’ve been pretty spot-on (though Last Man Standing getting axed was a bit of a surprise).

Expect more series orders, renewals, and cancellations today as networks prepare for a final surge before their upfront presentations next week.