Who Is In and Who Is Out on TV? Upfronts 2016 Recap

For TV fans, May is the most difficult month as networks decide which shows will stay and which will go…and which new ones will be picked up. It’s upfronts season: a stressful and exciting time! But with news coming out in pieces, it is time for a recap.

All the networks are in high gear during the month of May: it is sweeps and upfronts time. The fates of television series on all networks are in the fold, and since they all announce pickups and cancellations at different times, it is time for an up-to-date compilation. Here is a list of what we know so far, by network.

ABC

Unfortunately for current fans of ABC, the network has cleaned house. They have cancelled long-time favorites like Nashville and Castle, but also freshman shows like The Muppets and The Family. Mid-Season favorites Galavant and Agent Carter have also unfortunately been cancelled. Fortunately, fan favorites Once Upon A Time, Quantico, and The Goldbergs have been renewed! The network has also picked up some new series including Designated Survivor starring Keifer Sutherland, Conviction starring Hayley Atwell and Broken featuring Anna Paquin and Blair Underwood. . ABC’s full fall schedule will be released on May 17.

CBS

CBS has had a strange upfronts season. One of the first big pieces of news is that its freshman series, Supergirl, has been renewed, but it is moving to CW. This almost never happens, but it seems like Supergirl was always a bit of a weird fit for the network, so it seems like a smart move. It just hardly every happens. Super popular series such as The Big Bang Theory and NCIS were announced early for renewals, but out of all the networks, CBS kept us hanging the longest for renewal news. Luckily almost all of their series were renewed except for The Good Wife, Mike and Molly, and Person of Interest. Angel From Hell and CSI: Cyber were cancelled after this past season. It was announced that the network has picked up new series Training Day and MacGyver reboots as well as the much anticipated Star Trek reboot which is limited to their app, CBS All Access.

NBC

Out of all the networks, NBC seems to cancel the most shows in favor of turning fans onto new series each year. They try things, sometimes on the fringe, and see how it sticks. I would say that NBC is the most progressive in their programming, but they definitely pay attention to ratings. And frankly, NBC has seemingly the least amount of cancellations for the 2016-2017 season, and somehow has a lot of additions including Marlon, Powerless, Chicago Justice, and Great News. Of course, there is always the new series Cruel Intentions based on the 90s cult film and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. All of these sound like amazing additions, but we will have to see how the ratings pan out in the fall to make a real prediction.

CW

As we learned several weeks ago, CW has renewed nearly all of their scripted television series for next season. Unfortunately it went with cancelling its abbreviated series, Containment, but picked up new series Supergirl. This obviously opens the door for even more DC crossover with The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow which are already regulars at the network. Could this mean even more DC? Perhaps, but we will have to wait for the fall season to play out. The network also announce three new series pickups including Frequency, Riverdale, and No Tomorrow, all of which are genre shows.

Fox

So Fox is notorious for cancelling shows after one season (see Firefly and Almost Human), but they really butchered freshman series The Grinder and Grandfathered which they heavily promoted in the fall. However, they have renewed almost all of their hour-long programming including Empire, Scream Queens, a Nicole Beharie-less Sleepy Hollow, Lucifer, and Rosewood as well as comedies, New Girl, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and The Last Man on Earth. Bones will enter its final season, and new series Lethal Weapon and Exorcist will have to do well to prevent the axe.

Are there any shows that you are particularly sad about being cancelled? How about any shows that you are looking forward to? Let us know in the comments!

Author: Erin

Erin has reviewed many shows over the years including Orphan Black, iZombie, Penny Dreadful, and Killing Eve. She has a keen eye for on-screen chemistry, and loves to tackle the subject of casting. She is also our horror aficionado. She live tweets shows, and loves to share her feelings. Erin has a BA in History, and likes to analyze the lore behind historical fiction. She attends San Diego Comic Con every year and has also attended C2E2 and WonderCon.

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