Two months ago, TheWrap correctly predicted the demise of six shows that officially received their pink slips this week.
We’re not gloating, we promise. It gives us no pleasure to bid goodbye to “Outsourced,” “The Event,” “Perfect Couples,” “Detroit 187,” “No Ordinary Family” and “Traffic Light” — the now-defunct shows that made our list.
Also Read: ‘The Event,’ ‘Traffic Light’ and Other Shows We Think Are Doomed
We don’t root for shows to die — only for shows to succeed. And each of the six shows whose deaths we predicted (and this could be said of all the other shows that officially died with this week’s unveiling of 2011-12 schedules) had its merits. Each also had many ardent fans. We know all too well how difficult it is to get a show on the air, and that surviving for even one season is an extremely enviable accomplishment.
So, our predictions weren’t personal. We made educated guesses, based on the shows’ ratings. We tried to be as restrained as possible, leaving perennial bubble shows like Fox’s “Fringe” and NBC’s “Chuck” off the list (and correctly, as it turns out: both are returning in the fall, though “Chuck” for its final 13 episodes).
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In some cases, love blinded us: As huge fans of Fox’s “Lie to Me,” we refused to accept it was on its way out, despite reams of ratings evidence hinting to the contrary.
Also, we’re not claiming to be geniuses, as some of these cancellations were shockingly easy to predict. We (and everyone else) knew “No Ordinary Family” was done when its stars signed on to CBS pilots after a season of declining numbers.
Some of our readers suggested we were misguided in doing this kind of guesswork. One particularly irked commenter predicted that we were as doomed as the shows and wondered if we liked being informed of our mortality. (Actually, it reminded us to call our parents more. So thanks!)
With that, we wish the best to next season’s shows — and we hope we won’t be seeing you on our next list of Shows We Think Are Doomed.