‘Last Resort’ and ’666 Park Avenue’ canceled by ABC

Credit: ABC

Well, to say I’m upset about half of this decision would be a massive understatement.

Earlier today, ABC made the decision to cancel freshman dramas Last Resort and 666 Park Avenue due to poor ratings performance. Despite the network ordering two extra scripts for each show as a preliminary measure, ABC decided to go through with the cancellation.

Last Resort, the nuclear submarine drama from prolific showrunner Shawn Ryan, had trouble from the onset, opening on a weak night for ABC (Thursdays), and in an even weaker timeslot (8:00 PM). Despite its initial ratings problems, the series has seen gradual improvement in the ratings, and it has become something of a minor critical darling, to say nothing of the praise the show received from ABC entertainment chief Paul Lee. But these conceits were not enough to make up for the series’ underwhelming ratings performance.

This is a real shame, in my opinion, as the show was one of the strongest new dramas of the fall season, and the cast is uniformly strong (with Scott Speedman, Andre Braugher, and Robert Patrick, in particular, all turning in stellar work). Too many shows get canceled in this day and age before they’re given the opportunity to find an audience. Imagine all the hit TV shows that would have been canceled if they too had only been given seven episodes to find an audience: from classic shows like Seinfeld, Law & Order, The Simpsons, and The Odd Couple, to more recent shows like JAG (everybody remembers JAG, right?), Roswell (I think I’m one of only seven people on Earth who loved that show), Mad Men, and Revenge. Network execs drive me up the wall.

As for 666 Park Avenue, it stumbled right out of the gate, struggling to get a foothold on its Sunday night, 10:00 PM timeslot, following Once Upon A Time and Revenge. The series, starring Rachael Taylor, Lost vet Terry O’Quinn and fellow ABC network alums David Annable and Vanessa Williams struggled to clear a 1.6 rating in the coveted 18-49 demo.

Both series will be allowed to finish airing their original 13-episode order. ABC has not announced what will air in the timeslots once the shows leave the airwaves, as the network has yet to announce its midseason lineup.

Full story: Hollywood Reporter