Thursday, February 2, 2023

7 cancellations and a renewal.


by Thinus Ferreira

While American TV is producing more scripted series than ever before, the cancellation bear keeps stalking 2023's television woods with shows that keep getting axed as companies are consolidating their linear and streaming businesses into one. 

Here's the latest batch of your American shows which will be no more - and one deserving renewal.

NCIS: Los Angeles
One of the longest-running American procedural shows, NCIS: Los Angeles with LL Cool J, Chris O'Donnell and Linda Hunt is ending after 322 episodes at the end of its current 14th season which will be its last.

NCIS: LA, seen on M-Net (DStv 101) and Universal TV (DStv 117) was produced by CBS Studios and seen in more than 200 countries.

"Our crew has grown to be a true family and their hard work and dedication has been fundamental to our success year after year," says Scott R Gemmill, NCIS: Los Angeles showrunner in a statement.

"My deepest gratitude to the cast members, who have brought our characters to life with their impassioned performances – thank you for your talent, professionalism and continuous enthusiasm. And to our loyal viewers who loved our characters and followed their journeys, thank you. We look forward to delivering an end to the series that is both satisfying and does justice to these beloved characters."


Gossip Girl
HBO Max's reboot of Gossip Girl got the axe after two seasons.

Seen on M-Net (DStv 101) and Showmax, the series is the victim of Warner Bros. Discovery's content cost-cutting for its streaming service.

"We are very grateful to showrunner and executive producer Joshua Safran, and executive producers Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz for bringing us back to the Upper East Side and all the scandals at Constance Billard," says HBO Max in a statement. 

"Although we are not moving forward with a third season of Gossip Girl, we thank them for the enticing love triangles, calculated backstabbing and impeccable fashion this series brought to a new audience."


Doom Patrol and Titans
HBO also pulled the plug on the offbeat superheroes series Doom Patrol seen on M-Net (DStv 101) after four seasons, as well as Titans after four seasons, for the same reason as Gossip Girl - cutting back on streamer content.

"While these will be the final seasons of Titans and Doom Patrol, we are very proud of these series and excited for fans to see their climactic endings," HBO Max says in a statement.


American Gigolo
The Showtime series set in Los Angeles' modern-day sex industry with Jon Bernthal as Julian Kaye and seen on M-Net (DStv 101) and Showmax has just been cancelled after one season.

The reason? Paramount Global is consolidating the content across its Paramount+ and Showtime streaming services.

"We can confirm that American Gigolo will not move forward with a second season on Showtime. We are grateful to our partners at Paramount Television Studios, the producing team, cast and crew for their tremendous efforts to bring this series to life," Showtime says in a statement.


Let the Right One In
The vampire series Let The Right One In which will be on Showmax from 27 Ferbuary and is inspired by John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel that has been previously adapted into two acclaimed films, also got the axe after just one season.

Showtime can confirm that Let the Right One In will not move forward with a second season. We are extremely proud of this series and of the outstanding work by Demián Bichir, Madison Taylor Baez, Anika Noni Rose, our showrunner Andrew Hinderaker and his fellow executive producers, and the entire cast and crew," Showtime says in a statement. 

"We would like to thank all of them and our partners at Tomorrow Studios, and we wish everyone the best going forward."


Reboot
Steve Levitan's first TV project after the hugely successful Modern Family was this comedy series available on Disney+ which has been cancelled after one season.


Acapulco
And lastly, a renewal: The hilarious comedy series set during the 1980s and available on AppleTV+ has been renewed for a 10-episode third season.

"We have always believed that the stories we tell about our communities and cultures can resonate with global audiences, so crank up the AC, it’s about to get a lot hotter at Las Colinas Resort," says executive producer Eugenio Derbez who also stars in the show, in a statement.