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ABC is rounding off its 2015-16 season with the announcement of several cancellations.
Two freshman ABC series, drama Forever and comedy Cristela, will not be returning for a second season. Both had respectable runs, earning nine-episode back orders for 22-episode first seasons, something not every rookie is able to accomplish. (Forever also managed a rare ratings increase in its second airing vs. the premiere.)
There were some promising signs in the home stretch for Forever, which had a ratings uptick in the season (and now series) finale this week. (It’s good that creator Matt Miller gave fans some closure, tying many loose ends.) But the supernatural procedural, starring Ioan Gruffud as immortal New York City medical examiner Dr. Henry Morgan, wasn’t a noisy show and was not owned by ABC (It is produced by Warner Bros. TV).
Ditto for the 20th Century Fox TV-produced multi-camera comedy Cristela, which beat the odds to get on the air after the producers scraped together the money from a penalty paid by ABC to film a low-budget pilot, which became the actual pilot episode that made it on TV. Creator and star Cristela Alonzo wrote an emotional letter to fans on the eve of the season finale addressing the possible end of her show.
Meanwhile, Gruffud’s wife Alice Evans took to Twitter following the Forever cancellation news. “It’s brutal, but that’s show business,” she wrote. “Ioan is a little shaken right now but he wants to reach out and thank the wonderful, loving fans who made the whole experience so magic.”
Added Miller, “Was a joy to go thru this experience with all of u. Could not have asked for more loyal or devoted fans! #humbled #grateful #ItsALongStory.”
Agencies/Canadajournal
