Many new television series debuted over the past couple of years have been successful, but several are not cutting it. Some shows just never took off while some had great first seasons that quickly grew tiresome. When shows are not receiving good ratings, it’s time to cancel. Here are five TV shows that need to be cancelled already.
9JKL
CBS’s sitcom “9JKL” premiered October 2, 2017 and should be cancelled. The sitcom is filled with over the top stereotyped characters and forced jokes that are more corny than funny. The premise of the show is not bad. Mark Feuerstein and his wife Dana Klein created the show loosely based on their life when they lived in a New York City Apartment next door to Mark’s family. In the TV show, Mark Feuerstein plays Josh Roberts, a recently divorced actor in between jobs. Josh moves from Los Angeles to his hometown New York City to take some time and reflect on what he should do next. He rents the apartment, 9K, between his parents Judy and Harry (Linda Lavin and Elliot Gould) and his brother and sister-in-law (David Walton and Liza Lapira). Of course, Josh’s parents are as intrusive as they are loving and have no respect for Josh’s boundaries or personal life. His brother, although a successful surgeon, is jealous of his brother. The show could be good if not for the annoying stereotypes that are played over the top. This show is certain to be cancelled.
Marval’s Inhumans
ABC premiered “Inhumans” last fall and the show should be cancelled if it hasn’t already. ABC and Disney have a lot of Marval material to work with. Some of the comics adaptations have worked well, but “Inhumans” is not one of them. The concept is not great. The characters have powers that don’t always work in their favor. They are misfits. The series is miscast, so the ensemble cast does not work well. The premise is that Black Bolt (Anson Mount) is the king of the inhumans and is married to Medusa (Serinda Swan). Black Bolt’s power is his destructive voice so he can’t talk. Medusa’s power is her hair. Other “inhumans” include Gorgon (Eme Ikwickor), whose power has something to do with hooves, and Karnak (Ken Leury), whose power we don’t know. Maximus (Iwan Rheon) is Black Bolt’s human brother who’s fortunate to not have any powers. The show may have made a good IMAX movie but as a TV series it’s awful.
Blindspot
NBC’s “Blindspot” debuted in the fall of 2015 as a promising new crime drama. The television series started with a naked, heavily tattooed woman found in a travel bag in New York City’s Times Square. The girl, Jane Doe (Jamie Alexander), has no memory and no idea who she is. She becomes a valuable tool for the FBI to solve crimes. The show was suspenseful. It did well for the first two seasons but should have stopped there. The third season has received low ratings and was moved to NBC’s Friday night line up (usually a death sentence). The third season has failed to intrigue. The mysterious crimes and the clues found in Jane’s tattoos are getting ridiculous. Underlying storylines of love and romance are getting ridiculous. It would be surprising if this is not the last season of “Blindspot”.
The Exorcist
Fox’s television series “The Exorcist” is taken from the concept of the famous 1973 film “The Exorcist” and the William Peter Blatty book it was based on. In the television series two priests, Father Ortega (Alfonso Herrera) and Father Keane (Ben Daniels), are exorcists for the Roman Catholic Church. They tackle cases of demonic possession. It’s difficult for a television series to follow up from a critically acclaimed horror movie. The television series received some of the lowest ratings for Fox during the first season. With such low ratings, it’s difficult to believe the show was renewed for a second season. In the show’s favor, the series started out pretty good. It held on to its scary premise as the priests investigated a possible possession in the home of the Rance family. The second season showed the priests investigating cases outside of the United States. The problem is how far can the show go based on its original premise. The show pays homage to the original film, but there have been so many movies and television shows that have tried to follow and failed.
The Blacklist
Now in its fifth season, Fox’s “The Blacklist” has had a successful run, but it’s time to give up. “The Blacklist” is a criminal drama about a clever and highly intelligent criminal Raymond Reddington (James Spader) who turns himself in to the FBI. He offers up a variety of criminals but wants to work exclusively with new FBI Profiler, Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone). The first few seasons served up good drama, high intrigue and plenty of chase scenes. The problem is that the show has played out its best stories. Fans of “The Blacklist” have become disappointed in the over the top violence, crazy chase scenes and unbelievable story lines. The creepy relationship between Red and Liz is not appealing to fans of the show. It’s time for “The Blacklist” to let go.
