Andy DehnartAfter announcing its new summer series, NBC has cancelled a bunch of its reality series, including two standby summer reality shows, Last Comic Standing and network newcomer Nashville Star. It has also cancelled its order two more Thom Beers-produced series after America’s Toughest Jobs produced crappy ratings.
That’s according to The Futon Critic, which says it confirmed that Last Comic and “indeed won’t be back,” while Celebrity Circus, The Baby Borrowers, and American Gladiators are “officially getting the boot,” while America’s Toughest Jobs and Momma’s Boys “won’t be getting second seasons,” The Futon Critic says. And “the two other series ordered as part of … [Beers’] 30-episode deal with the network won’t be turning up on the Peacock at all” although those shows, including Shark Taggers, “are expected to turn up on cable.”
All of these are unsurprising, really, or at least less surprising than NBC’s decision to replace some of them with an old, long-forgotten ABC series, I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here.
American Gladiators did well when it debuted, but its second season tanked, losing more than half its viewers. While Nashville Star‘s ratings were up compared to its previous life on cable, it didn’t perform well for the network. Last Comic Standing‘s sixth season, which aired last summer, was compressed compared to earlier seasons. And Celebrity Circus was a crappy Dancing with the Stars copycat.
The network has also ordered another copycat: The Sing Off, which “will pit a cappella groups against each other in a battle sans instruments,” Variety reports. Still, it’s an American Idol clone, and we know how well those have done.