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CRITIC'S CUT: 10 Shows on the Brink of Cancellation

By: Apr. 08, 2013
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BWW TV World is thrilled to present our weekly Critic's Cut: slicing the best (and the worst) moments of pop culture into ten little digestible pieces.

Critic's Cut runs every Monday, presenting television's 'Best Of' moments, characters, shows, and more!

As the network's upfront season orders loom on the calendar, we've compiled a list of ten shows on the brink of cancellation - those that are most likely to sink into the abyss of being yanked from the airwaves. Between mediocre ratings, dragging plotlines, or an ever-changing timeslot, these shows are in definite danger.

Note: The list below is presented in alphabetical order.


THE CARRIE DIARIES - The CW
Despite having the SEX AND THE CITY rep attached, The CW's prequel has yet to catch on with audiences - and its season (series?) finale airs tonight. It's initial ratings are pretty dismal each week, drawing in less than a million viewers on average, but its popularity on streaming services such as Hulu may just give it a shot at a sophomore outing. Don't necessarily count this younger version of Bradshaw out quite yet. But don't get your hopes up either.


THE CLEVELAND SHOW - Fox
Seth MacFarlane's lowest-rated, and least funny animated series on the air hasn't put any new episodes into production aside from what's scheduled to air through May. With Family Guy and AMERICAN DAD already receiving pick-ups for the 2013-2014 season, CLEVELAND may not live to fall out of another second story bathroom again.


COMMUNITY - NBC
NBC's comedy wonder always seems to find itself close to the cutting room floor each year. This season, the network pushed the premiere date back more often than the Greendale study group nearly destroyed their Community college's campus. This season opened to big ratings - and then dropped to the series' lowest. Since then, its weekly numbers have been nearly unpredictable, with ratings constantly fluctuating.


CULT - The CW
Despite it's indecipherable plot, CULT, like every other show up for cancellation, has failed to enlist a devout following. And it definitely didn't help that The CW bumped it to Friday nights after only two episodes.


DECEPTION - NBC
NBC's Revenge knockoff has consistently been knocking on television screens to see whether or not there's actually anyone out there watching. Turns out that no one really is.


HAPPY ENDINGS - ABC
Following low ratings and an inability to find an audience in its ever-changing timeslot, reports have continued to pop up that ABC is seriously considering cancelling its ensemble comedy HAPPY ENDINGS. The good news: if the network passes on a fifth season, it looks like USA may welcome the comedy series with open arms.


THE NEW NORMAL - NBC
Ryan Murphy's freshman drama about the modern family (that's nowhere as good as ABC's actual MODERN FAMILY) had its season/maybe series finale last week. There's still no official word as to whether the series will be back or not, though its general reliance on stereotypes to further its depiction of the ever-changing structure of modern American families hasn't helped in the ratings game.


RED WIDOW - ABC
Did you watch this? Did anyone watch it? This year's crop of midseason dramas have fallen hard. ABC cancelled its other new player ZERO HOUR after just a handful of episodes - and Red Widow has performed hardly any better in the ratings. The alphabet's organized crime drama was pretty much dead-on-arrival.


SMASH - NBC
Its Saturday night debut - despite Liza Minelli guest-starring - received only a .5 in the ratings. The upside: SMASH got a bit of a boost in DVR playbacks, but regardless, the network's decision to send the Broadway-themed musical drama to the weekend graveyard is as clear of an indication we're going to get: the curtain's coming down.


UP ALL NIGHT - NBC
Considering the series has lost its two leading stars, the chances of Up All Night returning for another day are pretty dim. NBC had originally planned to revamp the show, moving to a multi-camera format rather than a single. But then the news broke that series creator Emily Spivey was walking away - and shortly after, Christina Applegate joined her. And then so did Will Arnett, who went ahead and booked a pilot for the new season.



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