Last month NBC placed several of its series in a state of limbo with a decision on whether they would be renewed or canceled to come. Well, the network has finally confirmed the ultimate fate of Good Girls, Manifest, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and Debris. It’s not good news.
All four series have been rather unceremoniously canned by NBC. This move is hardly shocking but it will still come as a huge disappointment to fans of each series nevertheless. TV cancelation season is always a tricky period for any show to navigate but this year has been especially brutal with multiple fan-favorite shows not making the cut.
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Good Girls was a comedy-drama crime series starting Mae Whitman, Retta, and Christina Hendricks as a group of housewives who turn to crime after becoming frustrated with suburban life. The show’s third season aired last year, but unfortunately, it won’t be returning for a fourth outing.
The cast has been lamenting the loss of the show on social media since the news broke. Whitman, while sharing images of the show on Instagram Stories (via TV Line), wrote that she felt "too sad and confused to look at [her] phone," but wanted to share "some of the best times with [her] girls." She ended the post saying "I'm forever grateful to you for supporting us :/ k me go cry now love you."
Hendricks shared a meme (embedded below) of Beth shielding Annie's eyes, trying to hide the news of the cancelation. She captioned the post "Well, we gave it our all. We really did. Thank you to our amazing fans through the years for all your passion and support."
Whitman replied twice, first with a "....." and then saying "Love you ladies more than anything on gods green." Then Whitman posted the meme with three emojis, including a broken heart and a woman shrugging.
Matthew Lillard, who plays Dean Boland, simply tweeted a link to the news with the caption "So. Very. Sad."
Reno Wilson, who plays Stan Hill on the show, shared a bunch of behind the scenes content with the caption "I’m not ready to say goodbye yet because we still have #season4 episodes left and they’re dope. Let’s enjoy this last season together. So for now here’s some more #bts of Stan and his squad. And also our beloved costume"
Musical series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist always seemed at risk of the chop, due to the significant cost of producing the show (licensing music from the likes of Taylor Swift ain’t cheap!). It had just wrapped up its sophomore series with a huge cliffhanger last month. A move to NBC's streaming service Peacock was discussed but didn't come to fruition. Sci-fi series Debris was an expected causality, lasting just a single 13-episode run. Even the reasonably strong reviews couldn’t save it.
Perhaps the biggest surprise on the list is Manifest. This mystery show very much aimed to replicate the success of LOST, the central premises even involves an airplane, and had run for three seasons. While not a rating smash hit, it had found an audience thanks in large part to success on streaming platforms. The show’s creator, Jeff Rake, hasn’t been shy about his desire for another network to pick up the series, Manifest fans may still get some answers.
Or @PrimeVideo? Or @hulu? Or @hbomax? Or….. https://t.co/1uqiBgowTrJune 23, 2021
These four NBC shows now join the likes of Jupiter’s Legacy, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Last Man Standing as The Walking Dead as canceled shows that won’t live to see the 2021-22 TV season. In the age of streaming, there’s never been more content to enjoy but that also means more series than ever competing for a network’s finite resources. It's no surprise that the cancellation list just keeps growing.
It’s always disappointing to see a show pulled before its creators have had the chance to complete their vision, but there’s still plenty of upcoming television to be excited about. Ted Lasso is back on Apple TV Plus next month and the return of Stranger Things is expected later this year, which should somewhat soften the blow of these latest cancellations.
