Had it not been for Empire or NBC's bloodbath of failed scripted series, Fox would have been viewed as the toilet of the major four networks this year. If I ever accused Fox of needing to take the sandpaper off of their toilet seat, I actually understand why Fox is such a sourpuss this season. ABC rose from the grave and stole 3rd place like the trampy other woman in the bar, and did so with such little effort. NBC has flaunted stealing its reality singing niche the Voice from American Idol for the last three seasons. CW outrated it tortoise and hare style several nights this season. And even senior skewing CBS dethroned Fox's formerly heralded Sundays when Football didn't falsely inflate its lineup.
Fox lost five series before the close of the season, only bested by NBC by the number of series. It matched NBC on losing 4.5 hours of weekly program, but is at a higher loss than NBC. What many forget is Fox produces 13 hours of weekly program, while NBC produces 19. That means NBC lost 25%, and Fox lost 32%. That's a lot of firewood to waste for mediocre results, as ABC cancelled 11-percent of its weekly programming hours and CBS lost 16%. With gaping holes in the Sunday schedule, Fox broke its Animation Domination legacy and relocated live-action Brooklyn 99 an d freshman sitcom Mulaney on its power night. The results? B99 matched its performance last season, and Mulaney dropped to paltry levels. If anyone has anything positive to say about this dud, humor me. Fox should have shoved Mulaney into the fireplace and burned it like a bad joke. Instead, Fox threw this turkey into the oven at 350 and gave the show (and moreso the viewers) a slow-boiling death.
I have mentioned what a joke NBC's Must Flee TV has become. However, the lord didn't show much Grace on viewers and gave them a lump of coal called Gracepoint. There seems to only be one fanatical commenter who is stuck on this show like Resi-due, so to her, I'll give her a one-way ticket to have a seat on the logs. I tried to give Red Band Society a chance as I love Octa via Spencer, but clearly viewers couldn't find joy in a show about sick children. Before it was announced DOA, and Fox believed they were being coy by ordering "two more scripts". I would have felt Fox ordering two more rolls of toilet paper in their corporate office to be more newsworthy. Thankfully, the morgue suggested cremation, and the memory of this misfire became a pile of ash.
Next up, Glee's final season was seen as a chance to send the show out with fireworks. Too bad Forrest Gump predicted the rain would come in from every direction, as even the dead woke up and complained about the noise Glee became and sent rain out of the ground to put out the fireworks. I have always loved Jane Lynch, and am elated she was released from this once iconic show. All of th ese cancellations made sense, and it seemed the bloodletting ceased with only a few low rated shows left to pare off of Fox's lineup.
Which leaves me to the most senseless and saddening cancellation of The Mindy Project. Yes, Mindy's ratings are poor. Yes, Fox needs to wake up its eroding Tuesday lineup. But does Fox really have two legs to stand on!? Mindy, like New Girl and Brooklyn 99, is a sophisticated comedy, which is considered legions higher than CBS's usual brand of toilet humor in recent years. Were its rating really that poor that Fox needed to cut its losses? I can only hope Hulu comes through and rescues this show as it will become this year's Suburgatory, cut short of one deserved season and not the lowest of network TV's sitcoms.
As I have spit nails and crass observations, I'm going to take a moment and remind fans that several shows were cut short too soon, and others revived after cancellation. Mr. Belvedere, a Friday ABC sitcom, was also axed after 2.5 seasons in 1987. Due to a lack of options, ABC revived the series for another 2.5 season, cancelling it midway through the 6th and final season. Fox Television Studios completed the season order and released the remaining 12 episodes in syndication. In recent times, Fox cancelled Family Guy, then revived it nearly 2 years later. Arrested Development also saw a revival after a 3-season axing. And of course, Community.... We hear too many fans clamoring for their beloved shows to be revived, even that dreadful Gracepoint. Just sit tight, and perhaps Mindy will r evive her magic somewhere. After all, it is an NBC produced show, and the Mindy Project never rated as poorly as any NBC freshman sitcom this season!