Alas, fellow TV lovers, we can put off the inevitable no longer. We must mourn the fallen and move on. That's the way it has always been with TV -- never look back.
But if there's anything I've learned in 23 years of covering the TV beat, it's that fans become attached. It doesn't matter if a series lacks the ratings to hang on, if it's your favorite, its cancellation hurts.
Here's a breakdown by network of the survivors and casualties from this past season. I feel your pain.
ABC
ABC waited until just five days before the Season 8 finale on May 16 to pull the plug on Castle. The producers, however, were prepared with an emergency ending that they hoped would give fans a semblance of closure.
The original cliffhanger ending (had another season been ordered) had Kate and Rick shot and bleeding out on the floor. We can presume that Kate would not have made it since Stana Katic had already been cut from the cast. Fans held out hope that Nathan Fillion would carry on.
Instead, fans got the tacked-on ending. Set seven years later, it showed a happy, not dead, Kate and Rick playing with three giggly kids.
Perhaps it's for the best. Us Weekly and other sources have reported that Katic and Fillion haven't gotten along for years. One source even said they "completely despise each other and don't speak off set."
Didn't show on screen? It's called "acting."
But the network ax didn't stop there. Nashville, which had been on the bubble since 2014, was whacked after four seasons of toe-tapping country music and soapy drama.
But then came good news for fans who longed to see the talented Stella sisters (Lennon and Maisy Stella played Maddie and Daphne Conrad) grow up a bit. CMT has picked up the series and will be airing 22 new episodes this fall. Hulu will stream them the day after they air.
ABC also canceled The Muppets, The Family, Marvel's Agent Carter, Rookie Blue and Galavant. Canned earlier in the season (so early we've forgotten they were ever on) were Blood & Oil, Of Kings and Prophets, The Astronaut Wives Club, The Whispers and Wicked City.
Here are the series that ABC did invite back: America's Funniest Home Videos, American Crime, The Bachelor, blackish, The Catch, Dancing With the Stars, Dr. Ken, Fresh off the Boat, Grey's Anatomy and The Goldbergs.
Also returning are How to Get Away With Murder, Last Man Standing, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Mistresses, Modern Family, Once Upon a Time, Quantico, The Middle, The Real O'Neals, Scandal, Secrets and Lies and Shark Tank.
Advance notice: Fans need not panic when they study the fall schedules and notice Scandal isn't there. ABC plans to keep the show on the sidelines until midseason to accommodate star Kerry Washington's maternity leave.
CBS
The demise of CSI: Cyber after two seasons means that for the first time since 2000, there will be no CSI franchise series on the network.
The original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation debuted in 2000 and ran for an impressive 15 seasons. The others were CSI: Miami (2002-2012) and CSI: NY (2004-2013). A total of 797 episodes of the CSI franchise aired.
Never fear, Ted Danson fans. The veteran actor (Cheers, Becker), who moved from CSI to CSI: Cyber, will be back in the fall on The Good Place, an NBC sitcom co-starring Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars). Bell's current series, Showtime's House of Lies, ended its five-season run June 13.
The Good Wife left the stage on its own terms May 8. In addition, CBS shipped Supergirl over to corporate little sister The CW where it'll be a better fit alongside other comic-book series Arrow, The Flash and DC's Legends of Tomorrow.
Others getting the CBS boot were Limitless, Angel From Hell, Extant, Mike & Molly, Person of Interest, Rush Hour and Under the Dome.
Invited back were 2 Broke Girls, Blue Bloods, Big Brother, Code Black, Criminal Minds, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, Elementary, Hawaii Five-0, Life in Pieces, Madam Secretary, Mom, NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, Scorpion, Survivor, The Amazing Race, The Odd Couple, Undercover Boss and Zoo.
Talk about job security, TV's top comedy, The Big Bang Theory, earned a rare three-season renewal back in 2014. And TV's No. 1 drama, NCIS, has been renewed through 2017-18. It'll soldier on without Michael Weatherly as Anthony DiNozzo.
CBS signed the actor to its new drama Bull, based on talk-show host Phil McGraw's early years.
FOX
Fox dumped the aging heartthrob comedies Grandfathered (starring John Stamos, 52) and The Grinder (starring Rob Lowe, also 52).
And, of course, the Fox elephant in the room left the building this season. American Idol ended its long, slowly declining run after 15 seasons.
Also kicked to the curb were midseason hopefuls Bordertown, Knock Knock Live, Minority Report, Second Chance and Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life. We hardly knew they were there.
Coming back to Fox next season will be Bob's Burgers, Bones (for a 12th and final season), Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Empire, Family Guy, Gotham, Hell's Kitchen, Lucifer, Master-Chef, MasterChef Junior, New Girl, Rosewood, The Last Man on Earth, The Simpsons, Scream Queens, So You Think You Can Dance, Wayward Pines and World's Funniest.
Also returning is Sleepy Hollow, even though Fox killed off half the lead duo with the demise of Nicole Beharie's Abbie Mills. How they'll atone to fans for that remains a mystery.
NBC
NBC pulled the plug on The Mysteries of Laura after two seasons, leaving the audience dangling with a cliffhanger. Still in love, Laura Diamond (Debra Messing) had rushed to stop her ex-husband from proposing to his new girlfriend. She was moments too late. Oooo. What now?
Cancellation, that's what. Sorry, fans.
Also sent to the video graveyard in the sky were Best Time Ever With Neil Patrick Harris, Crowded, Game of Silence, Hannibal, Heartbeat, Heroes: Reborn, Mr. Robinson, The Player, Telenovela, Truth Be Told and Undateable.
Series invited back include Hollywood Game Night, American Ninja Warrior, America's Got Talent, Aquarius, Blindspot, Celebrity Apprentice, Shades of Blue, Grimm, Law & Order: SVU, Superstore, Little Big Shots, The Biggest Loser, The Blacklist, The Carmichael Show, The Night Shift and The Voice.
Also returning are Chicago Fire, Chicago PD and Chicago Med. But wait! Prolific producer Dick Wolf's new Chicago Justice will join his other Chicago dramas in the fall.
Also on the horizon is a Blacklist spin-off, The Blacklist: Redemption.
THE CW
The CW granted early renewals to every show on its current schedule and will add Supergirl.
Back for more will be Reign, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries, Jane the Virgin, The Flash, iZombie, Arrow, The 100 and The Originals.
Note: Containment, which The CW labeled a "limited series," was indeed limited. It won't be back. And Beauty and the Beast is in its fourth and final season.
America's Next Top Model, which ran for 22 seasons (since 2003) on UPN before joining The CW, was canceled in December, then picked up by VH1 without Tyra Banks as host. She'll remain as executive producer.
ActiveStyle on 06/20/2016