ABC cancels AGENT CARTER, CASTLE and more, turns down MOST WANTED

Sorry for the noise so early in the morning. That’s just the sound of a giant axe hitting the chopping block over and over again as major American TV network ABC has cancelled a huge list of shows. The Disney-owned ABC had recently undergone a bit of a boardroom regime change and in a merciless bout of Spring cleaning the new higher-ups gave the axe to Marvel’s Agent Carter, Castle, The Muppets, Nashville, The Astronaut Wives Club, The Family, Galavant, Rookie Blue, The Whispers, Of Kings and Prophets and Wicked City.

Some of these we already knew about (Rookie Blue, Of Kings and Prophets) and other have looked painfully inevitable (Galavant), but there were still a few shockers on the list. The biggest one that affects us the most is undoubtedly Marvel‘s Agent Carter. Over the past two seasons of the Captain America spinoff, Hayley Atwell has been charming the pants off viewers as the titular founder of SHIELD in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

The show has been been a critical darling, but unfortunately that love had never really translated to an equal amount in ratings. Agent Carter has never done terribly, but also never did very well, and for a high-profile, reasonably pricey production, that appears to have been a death knell. And with [CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR SPOILER ALERT] Peggy Carter having died in Civil War recently, it’s uncertain if we’ll ever see the spirited secret agent in the MCU ever again.

Staying with Marvel-ous shows, ABC have also declined to move ahead on developing Marvel’s Most Wanted, the Agents of SHIELD spinoff focused on star Adrianne Palicki’s Bobbi Morse (AKA Mockingbird) and Nick Blood’s Lance Hunter. With the two characters technically having been written out of Agents’ story – complete with a massive emotional farewell – specifically so that they can go off and do their own thing, it will be interesting to see if the Agents showrunners now decide to bring the hugely popular characters back into the fold. The fact that the whole premise of Most Wanted is that they’re on the run with a bounty on their head and unable to turn to SHIELD for help may complicate matters.

The other major cancellation shocker on the list is Castle, the Nathan Fillion fronted crime procedural that has been running for 8 seasons now. Ratings on the show had declined steadily in the last few seasons, with this current season starting out at the lowest point of the entire series’ history, but they have since stabilized nicely and looked good for another run.

Adding to the unexpectedness of the cancellation were the cast themselves. If you follow us on social media (and you really should), you would know that we posted in the #Extras that Fillion’s co-star Stana Katic, who plays Richard Castle’s wife, police captain Kate Beckett, was not coming back for the show’s 9th season. With such a huge character removed, fans began worrying about the show’s future. However, in the past week or so, Fillion and other central cast members Seamus Dever, Jon Huertas and Toks Olegundoye have all re-upped their contracts for a 9th season. Which is now no longer happening (Hey, who said TV networks can’t change their minds?!). Next week’s season 8 finale on May 16 will now serve as the series finale.

The one good thing that has come out of this mass-cancellation is that ABC have just flooded the market with a serious amount of free agent talent. Atwell is already lined up to be back on our screens again soon in another series Conviction. And maybe we can now finally convince Fillion to get back into shape and actually do one of these superhero movies that he’s always being fancast in?

So any other of your favourite shows on the list that also got the chop? Anything you wish had not been cancelled or maybe you can’t understand how it stays on the air? Sound off in the comments below.

Last Updated: May 13, 2016