Congratulations if you like the TV program Parenthood. Sorry if you like the program Men at Work. Parenthood is one of the shows that will be returning for another season in the fall. It will be the sixth and final season of a show I have yet to watch. I saw the movie it's based upon, but I've never given the TV show a chance. I never saw Men at Work either, and that one's been canceled. I don't regret not watching it.
Every year at about this time, a lot of TV shows get the axe. To some of them, good riddance. But when it comes to others, what can those network programmers be thinking? And that question has an easy answer. It's just about money. If a program doesn't get good ratings almost immediately, the plug may be pulled. It doesn't matter how much you like the show. All that matters is whether enough of your friends do.
Here are some of the shows that will return in the fall: Parenthood, Cougar Town, the Mentalist, Last Man Standing, Nashville, Lab Rats, Gypsy Sisters, America's Funniest Home Videos, the Bachelor, Shark Tank, About a Boy, Hannibal, Dancing With the Stars, the Middle, Agents of SHIELD, Castle, the Goldbergs, Grey's Anatomy, Modern Family, Once Upon a Time, Resurrection, Revenge, Scandal, the 100, Beauty and the Beast, Hart of Dixie, American Idol, Law and Order SVU and Vice. Those are all confirmed by the networks to start new seasons in either September or October.
Of those returning, I'm a regular viewer of Cougar Town, the Mentalist, the Middle, Agents of SHIELD, the Goldbergs, Modern Family and Law and Order SVU. I used to watch America's Funniest Home Videos, but I stopped about the time that someone invented YouTube. And I watched Resurrection until the fourth episode, when I had already lost track of who's who among most of the show's characters.
Here are some of the shows that have been canceled: Men at Work, Dracula, Bad Teacher, the Crazy Ones, Friends With Better Lives, Hostages, Intelligence, Believe, Crisis, Super Fun Night, Community, Growing Up Fisher, Revolution, Suburgatory, Mixology, the Neighbors, Trophy Wife, the Carrie Diaries, Star-Crossed, the Tomorrow People, Dads, Enlisted, Rake and Surviving Jack.
My DVR was set up for Bad Teacher, the Crazy Ones, Intelligence, Believe, Super Fun Night, Community, Growing Up Fisher, Suburgatory, the Neighbors, Trophy Wife and Surviving Jack. I liked each one of those shows, and I don't think any of them should be canceled. I laughed all the way through the pilot for Bad Teacher. On the other hand, I didn't laugh at all during episode two. I'm a sitcom fan anyway, but I really thought Trophy Wife and Super Fun Night would be back. The writing was good, and so were the characters. The audience, however, was not.
I'm glad to see Friends With Better Lives, Hostages, Crisis, Dads and Enlisted go. I gave each of them a chance for a few weeks, then quit watching. I only watched Mixology once, and I thought it was one of the worst TV shows I've ever seen and inappropriate for prime time broadcast, even with the ever-softening rules. I remember saying to my wife, "They should move this show to HBO, then cancel it."
Your angst may vary.
