It’s ABC’s turn to go on a cancellation spree today, as the network solidifies its schedule ahead of next week’s big upfront presentations in New York. The network did some preemptive bloodletting earlier this week, announcing the departure of Last Man Standing, and that Scandal would end after its seventh season. Today, though, ABC really waded into its sanguinary work, announcing the end for at least six series: American Crime, Imaginary Mary, Secrets And Lies, Dr. Ken, The Real O’Neals, and The Catch, all in the span of a few minutes.
Out of all of those, American Crime was the longest-lived, and the one we’ll be saddest to see go. John Ridley’s anthology series drew strong initial praise for its storytelling and its cast—including Felicity Huffman and Timothy Hutton, who played different parts in each of its three seasons—but was ultimately overshadowed by the glut of peak TV. Dr. Ken, Secrets And Lies, The Real O’Neals, and The Catch, meanwhile, will all tap out at two years, while Imaginary Mary—which underwent extensive, ultimately futile redevelopment before it made it to air—leaves the stage after only one, with Jenna Elfman now presumably preparing to return to the cryogenic storage facility where she’s kept in between quirky, exuberant TV gigs.