YOUR RIDICULOUSLY EARLY FALL PREVIEWS

CLOSE CALLS DON’T COME MUCH CLOSER THAN THIS . THINGS

went down to the wire this year as network execs waited until the last minute to decide the fate of many beloved shows before revealing their master plans for the 2018–19 season to advertisers this week—and at least two shows were outright resurrected after receiving fatal death blows.
First, Fox canceled Brooklyn Nine-Nine after five seasons, a decision the network says was made because of low ratings and a schedule that’s getting tighter due to adding college football onto Thursdays in the fall. The level of outrage from Twitter took the industry by surprise, with Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda among those urging a reversal: “I only watch like 4 things, this is one of the things.”
Executives at NBC, whose studio actually owns Brooklyn, took notice and moved quickly to snatch the comedy up for their midseason schedule. “If we knew Andy Samberg was going to be cast in that show,” NBC entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt told reporters, “we never would have sold it to Fox.”
But the rescue of Brooklyn wasn’t nearly as shocking as Fox
reviving Last Man Standing—a show that was dead for a full year CLOSE C ALLS DON’T COME MUCH CLOSER THAN THIS . T H I N G S
went down to the wire this year as network execs waited until the
last minute to decide the fate of many beloved shows before revealing their master plans for the 2018–19 season to advertisers this
week—and at least two shows were outright resurrected after
receiving fatal death blows.
First, Fox canceled Brooklyn Nine-Nine after five seasons, a decision the network says was made because of low ratings and a schedule
that’s getting tighter due to adding college football onto Thursdays
in the fall. The level of outrage from Twitter took the industry by
surprise, with Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda among those
urging a reversal: “I only watch like 4 things, this is one of the things.”
Executives at NBC, whose studio actually owns Brooklyn, took
notice and moved quickly to snatch the comedy up for their midseason schedule. “If we knew Andy Samberg was going to be cast in
that show,” NBC entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt told
reporters, “we never would have sold it to Fox.”
But the rescue of Brooklyn wasn’t nearly as shocking as Fox
reviving Last Man Standing—a show that was dead for a full year

after being axed by ABC. Fans mocked Fox for ditching the critical darling Brooklyn for the prosaic Tim Allen sitcom, but the numbers make sense.(Standing was averaging 8.3 million viewers to Brooklyn’s 2.7 million.) And then there’s the whole Roseanne Effect, with Fox executives admitting ABC’s ratings success with the revival was a factor in their decision, while downplaying Allen’s conservative political beliefs. “Tim’s personal politics are not a big feature of the show,” noted Fox TV co-CEO Gary Newman.And Fox had two other close calls of
note: Gotham was expected to be a goner but snagged a shortened fifth (and final) season that will air next year and focus on Bruce Wayne becoming the Caped Crusader, while action-drama Lethal Weapon was in serious jeopardy until American Pie actor Seann William Scott signed on at the last minute to replace
series star Clayne Crawford, who waS booted from the series in the wake of allegations of poor on-set behavior. Other shows weren’t so lucky. In addition to scores of canceled dramas , there were some high-profile titles in development that won’t make it to air—such as CBS’ Cagney & Lacey reboot starring Sarah Drew and Michelle Hurd, and The CW’s Supernatural spin-off, the female
ensemble Wayward Sisters. Then again, if this season has shown anything, it’s that you can never count any show out. Here is just a sampling of some of the new series that networks will be airing in
the coming months: