BrainDead and American Gothic Canceled at CBS
Carissa Pavlica
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At least fans got closure.
That's what I'm thinking as we learn CBS decided to pull the plug on two of its three scripted summer series, BrainDead and American Gothic.
American Gothic was about a family with close ties to a serial killer from the past and the havoc being created from a killer in the present. There was a resolution, the killer was revealed and that's more than we can say about a lot of shows.
BrainDead, too, was given a satisfactory ending, there was a happy ending for the main couple, the aliens were defeated and those who were taken over by the aliens were left in a somewhat reformed, if less than perfect state than they were before.
BrainDead was arguably the more successful of the two series.
Neither show was a ratings juggernaut, but Robert and Michelle King were the creative minds behind BrainDead, and once the show got rolling, the subject matter and writing were really on par.
Critics and fans came to appreciate what was being offered.
There is a spinoff of The Good Wife heading to CBS All Access, however, and the Kings recently signed on as full time showrunners of that series, likely the writing on the wall for any hope remaining for another season of BrainDead.
BrainDead lead, Mary Elizabeth Winstead has also signed on for Fargo Season 3 as a series regular, making her unavailable if they had wanted to keep the same cast.
That leaves only one scripted series left from 2016 on the air for 2017. Zoo was renewed for Season 3 after a rather thrilling season that ended with an 11 year time jump into an unexpected future where pregnancy is no longer viable and the last children have just graduated elementary school.
Whether or not CBS will have new scripted fare to add to their summer slate remains to be seen.
Scripted television didn't do so well overall this past summer, and most broadcast networks saw more failure than success, if they bothered at all.
Even cable discovered it wasn't going to be as easy as following one successful season with another. There's definitely work to be done, but in summers previous, audiences proved they were willing to stay indoors if the programming got it right.
Let's hope these cancelations are not indicative of a trend and we'll see more scripted programming from CBS, who has been generous in their genre far for summertime, as well as other networks for those of us who enjoy getting away for a TV staycation.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
