Cancelled TV Shows 2015: ‘State Of Affairs’ Could Be First Big Show Chopped This Year

The list of cancelled TV shows in 2015 is reportedly ready to grow very soon, with NBC officials reportedly worried about one of their biggest shows.

This year, the network put a lot into State of Affairs, the show that saw Katherine Heigl return to television. But despite the marketing efforts and a coveted slot after The Voice, the show has struggled to find viewers.

This week, NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt spoke out about the show’s disappointing performance, saying he couldn’t understand why it was failing.

“I’m disappointed in what it’s been doing [ratings-wise] the last couple of weeks,” he said Friday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. “It’s a show that I think is a really fine show, so I’m scratching my head a little bit about why we can’t get more people to be there for it.”

Greenblatt said the show’s serialized nature may make it difficult for new viewers to jump in. State of Affairs also suffered when it lost The Voice as a lead-in.

Though it’s not uncommon for new dramas to get off to a slow start, the numbers were alarming to NBC, Variety noted the following.

“Granted, audiences aren’t trained to expect firstrun episodes from the networks in late December (and it could be that more people than usual will catch up via DVR playback), but ‘State of Affairs’ (1.1 rating/4 share in adults 18-49, 5.0 million viewers overall) was down half a ratings point week to week and 0.3 below its previous nadir set Nov. 24 with its second episode. Its lead-in this week, a repeat ‘Saturday Night Live’ Christmas special, did a 1.6 in the demo in the 9:30 p.m. half-hour, a significant 43% lower than last week’s “Voice” (2.8).

“Starting Jan. 5, ‘State of Affairs’ will have ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ as a lead-in.”

NBC could have more issues in the coming year. While it’s not clear yet if State of Affairs will join the list of canceled TV shows in 2015, the network is already losing one of its comedy mainstays. Parks and Recreation is in its final season, and started the year to higher ratings.

The network also has a hole to fill after canceling an upcoming Bill Cosby project.

“We heard some of those accusations, we knew there were settlements and what not, but it didn’t seem to be [at] critical mass,” Greenblatt said of the decision to pull the plug on the Cosby project. “But when that many people come out [with accusations],” as has happened in recent months, “there was no way that we could move forward with it.”

While it’s on the ropes, NBC gave no indication that State of Affairs would become the first canceled TV show of 2015.

[Image via NBC]