ABC

Rebel, For Life, and more canceled at ABC

It’s been a long weekend of cancellations and renewals. We’re breaking them down in various posts, starting with the ABC 2021 cancellations.

It’s that time of the year where networks make their big decisions. FOX has released decisions slowly, while ABC opted for a day with all the big decisions. They came in batches of cancellations and renewals for the most part, and some of the cancellations were certainly disappointing.

Which shows aren’t coming back for new seasons in the 2021-2022 season? We’re taking a look at each of the individual ones with why they have likely been canceled.

Rebel canceled after one season

We start with the newest show on the network. After just a few episodes, ABC has decided to bring an end to Katey Sagal’s show, Rebel. It’s certainly a shame considering the topics raised, but the live ratings just weren’t good enough. This was a show that followed on from Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy, the two top-performing shows on the network, and it couldn’t keep the viewership.

The prestigious cast wasn’t enough to even give the show a bit more of a chance. After all, sometimes show just need time to find the audience and the right placement in the network. This new season premiered in April 2021, making it difficult to draw in the large audience it probably could have done with a fall premiere.

For Life canceled after two seasons

Another drama ABC is saying goodbye to is For Life. The show’s lead, Nicholas Pinnock, has said not to blame ABC for the decision.

We have to remember that the networks are a business. If the live ratings aren’t good enough, the networks are going to end up cancelling shows. After all, it’s the advertisers that pay for the shows and they rely on the live viewers.

That being said, For Life‘s future isn’t over like Rebel‘s. There is the potential that the legal drama getting a home with a streaming platform. The fight is not over with this one.

American Housewife canceled after five seasons

Probably the most disappointing cancellation when it comes to comedies is that of American Housewife. With the Season 5 finale now acting as the series finale, there’s no doubt we would have loved a little more just to wrap up the storylines.

However, this is one of those shows that’s been affected by constantly being moved around the ABC schedule. The lack of consistency wouldn’t have helped gain a consistent viewership. However, the show wasn’t performing that badly in terms of all the sitcoms, so the cancellation is extra disappointing. It’s hard to tell why ABC made this decision.

mixed-ish canceled after two seasons

Another disappointing cancellation was mixed-ish. The black-ish spin-off got off to a good start, but it didn’t manage to keep it up. The second season has seen a dip in the viewership, but then every show has.

However, ABC is clearly concerned about the performance. With other comedies on the way in, it looks like the network as more hope in them. We do have another black-ish spin-off potentially happening, so we’ll keep an eye on old-ish.

Black-ish: Season 1 (Amazon Exclusive) ($)

Call Your Mother canceled after one season

Finally, it’s all about the newest comedy on the network. Call Your Mother isn’t getting a second season, and this is due to the low viewership.

There are debates over why Call Your Mother‘s ratings were down. Some say that the comedy just wasn’t that funny and others say that it was the scheduling that caused problems. I’ll admit that I didn’t watch the show to make a comment here. However, one thing I will say is that the scheduling was off for all ABC shows and some of them still performed well enough.

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Which ABC cancellation are you most disappointed about? Which canceled show would you like to see a streamer save? Share your thoughts in the comments below.