ABC Cancels Samantha Who? After Just Two Seasons

Samantha Who Canceled?; This Comes as Quite a Surprise for the Christina Applegate Show

Ryan Christopher DeVault
Samantha Who canceled? Certainly that wasn't the thought by producers of the show when Christina Applegate was winnings awards for the leading role, but it seems that will now be the case. ABC decided to cancel Samantha Who after just two seasons, and this will be a big shock to the millions of viewers who had tuned in to the show. This is also terrible news for comedies in general, as this one had originally garnered strong ratings, and seemed like one that could really grow if it was given a static time in the ABC schedule.

In recent weeks it has seemed that Samantha Who was close to being brought back for a third season, but it seems that this show has fallen victim to being held off the schedule for too long, and alienating viewers that really wanted to stick with the show. It seems that ABC is going to fall victim to their own revolving prime time schedule, and the addiction to scheduling cheap reality programs in their open slots. Samantha Who had really been one of the more original comedies that ABC had come up with in recent years, and with it they had garnered a lot of critical approval for the comedy as well as its lead.

Last season when Samantha Who made it on to the schedule, they were the second highest new show behind Private Practice according to the numbers (linked below). That put them ahead of The Big Bang Theory, Chuck,Pushing Daisies, and Life just to name a few. The 2008 premiere still drew 9.12 million viewers to the show, making it a worthy component of the network, but recent episodes saw it fall to around 4 million viewers. The problem could have been a move in the schedule from its cushy Monday over to Thursday, which is an already packed night on television. Not a good move for a hit show, and it could have solely killed off Samantha Who.

It seems that yet another network is giving up on an original comedy, and the strong cast of Samantha Who just didn't provide enough power to keep the show going another year. Hopefully this will allow star Christina Applegate to move on to some new projects, and maybe we will see her back on network television even quicker than one would assume. Now ABC will have to head in another new direction, and coupled with the loss of Lost on the schedule next season, they could be in real need of a winning formula very soon.

Sources:

Entertainment Weekly

2007 New Show Ratings

Published by Ryan Christopher DeVault - Featured Contributor in Sports

Born in Seattle, Washington, I am a 31 year old college graduate working in the field of Education and Research. I am also a professional freelance writer and news content provider. I can be reached at...   View profile

7 Comments

Post a Comment
  • Davida Chazan 5/24/2009

    Shame. The show was cute, but it wasn't one that looked like it would be sustainable for all that long, so no surprises there. I just thought it would make at least three seasons, considering the international distribution it got.

  • James W. Coates 5/22/2009

    I loved this show but never bothered watching it on TV - who has time to keep up with their ever-changing schedule. I buy the season passes on iTunes and watch the episodes again and again. It truly was a great show with a great cast. ABC did itself a disservice by getting rid of this one.

  • Melva 5/20/2009

    It is a good show and I used to watch it regularly when it was on Mondays. I couldn't see it on Thursdays because of work. They could shift it to Wedsnesdays now that Scrubs is off and probably build the audience back. ABC will cancel a show if they don't own it though so maybe that's what happened. It's why they cancelled George Lopez two years ago but still show According to Jim, even though Lopez had higher ratings. They didn't own it and they have to pay to show it.

  • freakmamma 5/19/2009

    I only saw one episode but it seemed like everyone loved it

  • Paul Solomon 5/18/2009

    ABC has cancelled all our favorite shows. If a show is doing well, they just take it off the air and then put it on when nobody notices. The one show they got right was "Cavemen", which was no better or worse then "In the Motherhood" or Bob Saget's laughfest "Surviving Suburbia". Take "Samantha Who?" for instance. ABC buries it so it can't even be found and then starts a rumor that the remaining episodes will be scheduled sometime in the future. One of TV's best comedies with an all-star cast is treated like it was old reruns of "My Mother the Car". Which brings us back to "Cavemen", which is an example of ABC's brilliant comedy minds. One of the worst shows ever is now looking a lot better when stacked up against some of the other so-called comedies on ABC and elsewhere (did anybody laugh at "Parks and Recreation" on NBC...I thought "Southland" was funnier.) So what about the unseen episodes of "Cavemen". ABC can save some money and show them after "Dancing with the Stars" because peo

  • rumbledoll 5/18/2009

    this is ridiculous! this is the best show on tv! very original and funny!

  • Tina Molly Lang 5/18/2009

    bummer! I've always like Christina.

Displaying Comments

To comment, please sign in to your Yahoo! account, or sign up for a new account.