This last month has seen the usual round of cancellations and there were some quite painful ones this year but also some inexplicable renewals!
Cancelled and it Hurts!
Agent Carter. Noooooo! Peggy, come back! Marvel’s ABC TV show never got great ratings, but was well liked by critics and its fans were very devoted. I am not sure why it didn’t do so great. The train of thought that women viewers watch shows with men and women characters but male viewers don’t like shows with female leads is a depressing thought if true. However, comic books do tend to appeal to boys more. They are written largely by men and feature mostly male characters. You only have to look at all the superheroes and the recent films. Agent Carter was the first Marvel show (or film) to have a female lead, and a female with no actual superpowers at that! It led the way Jessica Jones on Netflix and next year there will finally be a Wonder Woman film. In that time there will probably have been, what, 30 films with male superheroes? Add up all the Batman, Superan and Spiderman films, add on the Marvel Iron Man, Thor and Captain Americas. Yes there were some female X Men but the clue is in the name there.
Anyway, Agent Carter was a classy show with a terrific lead performance from Hayley Atwell, ably supported by a charming James D’Arcy as Jarvis. Unfortunately I did not think some of the other elements always worked so well. Peggy’s chauvinist bosses were charmless and frankly idiots! Still the show looked amazing with lovely period touches and a real sense of fun. Fans are hoping it might be picked up for another series, or even a limited run by Netflix. Hayley Atwell has been signed up for a crime/legal procedural where she is apparently doing an American accent. Like Bendict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, WHY!! Everyone knows they are Brits, just let them keep their lovely voices!
Also Cancelled..
I was sorry that Nashville was also given the boot this month. However, this season has not been that great. Star Hayden Panetierre had very bad post-partum depression after giving birth last year and missed much of the season. When she returned, Juliette was shown to be suffering from this too, and I believe this didn’t help the actress who is not back to her best yet. They also made Maddie, Rayna’s older daughter, a bratty teen and her story about emancipating herself from Rayna and Deacon was just tedious. The girls, Lennon and Maisie Stella, are super talented as singers and actually damn good little actresses too, but the story line was grim and dull. Again, there is hope the show might re-surface on another network but the mix of music and soap opera drama was fun. I loved Connie Britton and Hayden Panetierre throughout.
Castle was a surprise cancellation, but as the show had just fired co-star Stana Katic, I was not totally sorry. I’ve always liked Nathan Fillion, but the rumour was, the two did not get along and Fillion was pretty keen to edge her out, reminding the producers the show was called Castle. It was always an entertaining romp of a show and there have been some pretty good episodes this year but it seems appropriate to get out now as things have turned ugly.
The Good Wife ended it’s seven year run (not exactly a cancellation though) with a return in the finale from Josh Charles as Will Gardener. Some people weren’t happy with the finale, but I thought it was ok. This season has lacked something, and again the loss of core actors Josh Charles and Archie Panjabi lessened the show a bit, despite one of the best guest/recurring casts around.
Galavant was the most unlikely of shows, a half hour medieval comedy musical filmed in Wales and Bristol. Renowned film composer Alan Menken provided a couple of songs per episode and the show was just nuts! A real treat, and once again its small but devoted audience are hoping #GalavantGoneTooSoon might be seen again one day. Still, two seasons isn’t bad going.
The Family was a new show that sadly only lasted one season that I quite enjoyed. Joan Allen starred as a women about to be elected to office when her son, presumed kidnapped and murdered years before apparently returns. The show was building up a good mystery and I was intrigued by the characters but sadly The Family is no more!
You’re Bringing THAT back??!
Sleepy Hollow was an unexpected joy in its first season. Tom Mison as Ichabod Crane and his partnership with troubled detective Abbie Mills played by Nicole Beharie was a lot of fun. Unfortunately it was all downhill from there. Season 2 was a real mess and this latest third season not much better. Beharie obviously felt the same and was apparently keen to leave. Still, the decision to kill her off in the season finale robbed the show of its basic concept. Like Castle, these shows were based on a male/female dynamic and it was sad both shows led by a straight white male character were ditching their leading ladies. Sleepy Hollow was also notable in its first season for starring three black characters to one white one – Orlando Jones as Captain Irving and Lyndie Greenwood as Abby’s sister Jenny made a good team. The show has been quite poor for 2 years, now really was the time to put it out of its misery but surprisingly, it got a renewal. The 4th season will retain Tom Mison but no one else I think. Wonder how long it will last?
Also ending this year Lost Girl, the groundbreaking Canadian bisexual succubus show that was also running out of steam after 5 seasons. However, so many great moments and a fantastic and fun depiction of the underworld of the Fae. We’ll always have the memory of Anna Silk’s cleavage!
Rizzoli and Isles – yes, it too has run its course and will be ending soon. Like other long running shows, battle scars are showing and for many, the heart went out of the show a bit with the tragic suicide of Lee Thompson Young, the charming and likable Detective Frost in 2013. This is a light and frothy show and the chemistry between the lead actresses is what makes it. Still, seven seasons is a damn good run.
Person of Interest has just a few episodes left of a shortened 13 episode final season. I LOVE Person Of Interest and am sorry it is ending, but the network doesn’t seem to have any more interest in it. Two episodes a week have been airing – on a Monday and Tuesday – nice for the fans, but usually a network’s way of burning off a show. Sarah Shahi as Sameen Shaw returns after the actress gave birth to twins last year and the ultimate battle of our heroes and The Machine against the baddies and their computer system called Samaritan will probably have a body count! Great series and I LOVE Amy Acker as Root.