I’m going to tell you right up front: I’m bummed! Big Time!
I have written before about a fall ritual I perform every year. You would think, it being an autumnal ritual, that it would have something to do with hot cider, pumpkins, or sitting by a blazing fire while enjoying a cup of hot chocolate. Nope! It has to do with my television viewing.
Every year I “study” the new fall television roster and set up my DVR to record each of the new shows that look interesting to me. I then try all of the shows. I have to be honest, I don’t make it through the entire show with most of them. A lot of the time, ten minutes is enough to give me the flavor of the show. However, every year I hold out the hope that there will be one or two new shows that I think are so good that I stay with them.
I had a few finds last year. However The Millers is the only one that the networks chose to keep on during the entire first season. Yes, I am like the Kiss of Death for the shows I think are good. It almost seems inevitable for my this-show’s-OK to be taken off the air after only a few episodes. I could almost become a predictor of shows that will be cancelled >>> by simply thinking the show is good!
As I mentioned, The Millers was one of the shows I enjoyed from last year’s fall line-up. Of course I should have been able to predict that this show was not going to remain on. >>> There were no push-up bras being worn, no smart-alecky kids talking back to the adults, nor any “adult double entendres.”
Instead, the show focused on an extended family. It revolved around a newly divorced somewhat Narcissistic brother (portrayed as only Will Arnett can!) who is a reporter for the local news. He happens to love his younger sister (another right-on portrayal by Jayma Mays). The younger sister is married to a man (Nelson Franklin is perfect as this out-to-lunch guy) who was brought up in a commune by his hippy parents. (Need I say more about the husband?!?) The brother helps his sister and her family out financially, not because he has to, but because there is obviously a sibling love between them.
To the horror of these two siblings, their parents come to town, telling them of their imminent divorce. The father (played beautifully by Beau Bridges) moves in with the daughter, and the mother (played brilliantly by Margo Martindale) moves in with the son.
I enjoyed this show so much that I really looked forward to seeing it again this fall. However, I noticed that there had been a huge change in the show this season. Hmmm… It was somewhat of a mystery to me that the producers would have changed something that for me, was not broken. That’s when I went to the internet, Googled “The Millers cancelled” and, to my surprise found out this show has been cancelled!
A show I discovered this fall is Marry Me. I think Casey Wilson and Ken Marino are absolutely adorable as a newly engaged couple. The rest of the cast is also very good >>> and it’s a real treat to see JoBeth Williams playing Ken Marino’s mom. Having said all this, I feel like I’m warning you. I hope me liking the show doesn’t mean NBC will cancel it!
Are there any new shows from this fall’s line-up that you think are so good you’d like to tell us about it/them? If so, please post a comment!
Donna says
Scorpion has been my new show for this year that I love. It’s about a group of geniuses that work with the government and is based on a true genius, Walter O’Brien. There is a waitress who is normal who has a son that is a genius (she didn’t know what was wrong with him) and they help her to understand him and she helps them be more human. The cast are people I never heard of except for the waitress played by Kathleen McPhee from American Idol.
So far it is getting great reviews but like you said we shall see. I have watched many shows that I thought were great and they got cancelled.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Donna, it sounds like Scorpion might make it if they are receiving great reviews. I had not idea The Millers wasn’t!
Jackie J. Griffey says
What a bummer to have the show you like cancelled. Looking back I can see the ones that though the rest of the world thought they’d had enough of the characters, I missed them and the series. Look at it like the weather, dear – it will change SOON! Hang in there and thanks for your blog, I so look forward to it every day. 😎
Jackie
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Jackie, I’m sure they’ll put on some other shows that I enjoy… however, maybe it’s better for the actors if I stay away!
Petie says
I could not agree with you more. I love The Millers and am still confused as to why CBS would cancel such an entertaining program. There are very few TV programs the family watches and enjoys but The Millers was certainly right at the top. So now it’s just NCIS and my books on Kindle for me!
Of course I’m still looking daily at the online TV Guide for the Turner Classics !!
Donna Mc says
That’s a shame about The Millers. I didn’t watch it (actually, hadn’t heard of it until now) but from your description it sounds like it was a good, truly family-oriented show, and there aren’t enough of those around anymore! I have simply fallen in love with Forever, a show on ABC Tuesday nights at ten – that’s a hint folks, please watch! 🙂 It is so intelligent, interesting and fun, and the close relationship between father and son is the best thing I’ve seen on TV in ages. Judd Hirsch is an older gentleman and a wonderful actor, and he owns the most gorgeous antique shop – I want to go there! The main story is about Henry, a medical examiner with a secret (no spoilers), and Jo, the detective he assists with the murder mystery each week. I’m so smitten with Forever that I even blogged about it!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Donna Mc, I had never heard about Forever. I must have missed it when I was going through the listings. I have added it to my DVR, and am looking forward to watching it.
I’m not sure The Millers is for all the family. There are some adult situations sprinkled throughout… two of them focusing on the divorced parents getting back together. So, it’s definitely not for little tykes… But it’s also not bodice-ripping time either!
Donna Mc says
Danna, that sounds like a good show for grownups. Why don’t networks give these programs a chance? I’m closer to 49 than 18 and I want to watch something that is smart and witty, not dumbed down! Makes one wonder what the networks are looking for in the first place.
Forever isn’t for young children, either. There are some adult themes, but it is very tastefully done and intelligent, too. The episodes are already on Amazon and prime viewers can watch free! I really believe that most cozy viewers will love this show, if they will be patient through some of the gross ME scenes and the brief geeky moments. (I guess that is for the 18 years olds! LOL) I can honestly say that the pilot episode won me over quickly, and the last few minutes actually had me in tears. That isn’t easy, I’m usually the first one to roll the eyes at sentimental scenes, but this show was genuinely good all the way through and keeps improving.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Donna Mc, I’m going to have to have my husband show me how to get that Prime thing going. We’ve been members of Prime for years (I do most of my non-grocery shopping through the Prime deal-y), so I probably should get this set up.
Donna Mc says
The first episode of Forever will repeat on Tuesday (Dec 16), ABC, at ten o’clock. Cozy readers who hold on until the last five minutes or so will really like the ending, and hopefully will love the show!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Donna Mc, I’ve set up my DVR to catch it tonight. Thank you!
Lynn T. says
Sometimes the rating are quite good for a show but the viewers are not in the 18-49 age group that the advertisers want. We loved the show Vegas that was from the 1960’s. It had good ratings. It had good acting, set, characters and storyline. However, the viewers were mainly older. So it was cancelled. Other shows that had similar ratings were kept if their 18-49 ratings were higher. There was an outcry but it fell on deaf ears. Meanwhile Two Broke Girls was renewed and is still going. Vegas was on CBS and I read a comment that if it had been on another network due to its decent ratings it probably would have been kept.
Longmire was a big hit on A&E. At first, it was said that they wanted to go to reality based shows that they owned. Later it was reported that the age group was not in the 18-49 age group.
I guess Netflix recently picked it up but we can’t stream due to where we live. We would have to subscribe to Netflix and watch it on DVD. It was almost jaw dropping when I read that they were not renewing a top hit show on A&E. Who would have thought that would happen?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lynn T, aha! So it’s the 18-49 year olds who they want watching the shows! Hmmm… I would have guessed they are the ones who use comskip >>> a commercial detector that lets you skip through the entire commercial breaks…
Paula says
Lynn,
I also love Longmire, I feel it is one of the best series on TV. I can’t understand why A&E would cancel that show and keep other lame and, quite frankly, awful, annoying reality shows on!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Paula, I’m guessing that reality shows cost close to nothing to produce. And, unfortunately, lots of people like to watch them. It’s incredible to me that the people who are on them become “stars”!
janie says
I agree, that was one of my favorite shows. I was very disappointed. When a channel who used to have several good dramas has cancelled their last remaining show written with intelligence, they have no right to call themselves the Arts & Entertainment Channel. They basically pander to the lowest common denominator, sad pathetic reality shows that are cheap to produce.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Janie, it harkens back to the days when A & E took off all of the quality British mysteries they used to show and started putting on all sorts of reruns of mediocre shows that everyone was tired of seeing.
Nancy says
Glad to know Longmire is not completely gone. I loved it. We, however, live in the boonies and cannot stream due to our slow Internet reception. There are trade offs to everything. Reading is still the best.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Nancy, until these last few comments, I just assumed everyone would be able to have adequate internet reception. During our 900-mile drives up to Colorado Springs (from San Antonio) I often remark about people who live way out “in the boonies” and how much better connected they are with the internet and cell phones than their predecessors. I guess it’s all relative to where out “in the boonies” they live.
Yvonna says
I, too, feel like I’m the kiss of death for shows I like. I’m sure that the real reason is that I’m in the wrong demographic – too old for the type shows and the ads the networks play toward, but it does feel like that if I like a show, it will be canceled.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Yvonna, I guess the 18 year olds out there buy more of the laundry detergent, clothes, food, ETC than those who are older than 48… NOT! I just don’t get it.
Lisa W. says
Don’t feel bad. I agree with you. I absolutely loved this show last year. I also have the “curse” of every show I truly enjoy being canceled. I do not watch reality tv and if it’s not a reality show, then the show has to have scantily clad women, a lot of shooting guns or racing cars, or all of these medical investigations (Bones) to make it on tv. Nothing that is just funny will last long.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lisa W, it sounds like there are a lot of us in the if-I-like-it it-will-be-cancelled club! I don’t mean to speak disparagingly about such “stars” as the Housewives, but really, how do some shows continue while quality shows are taken off?