The 7 biggest cancelations of the 2012 TV season: A guide [Updated]

(Image credit: NBC Universal, Inc.)

last updated 8 January 2015

If you're launching a full slate of new TV shows — as every major network does each autumn — some of those freshman series are bound to miss the mark, and the 2012 TV season is no different. Now that most new series have had ample opportunity to attract an audience, the networks are beginning to axe under-performers, including some of the most hyped shows. Here's a guide to the season's key cancelations and what disappointed devotees can expect:

1. Emily Owens, M.D.

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On November 16, ABC canceled freshman drama Last Resort, a series chronicling the adventures of a renegade U.S. nuclear submarine crew who sought refuge on an island. "Our ratings had been on the cusp, or really below the cusp, for a few weeks now," said creator Shawn Ryan. "I would compare it to [when] you have a relative who becomes terminally ill. You know it's coming, and yet you are still shocked when it happens." The series' final filmed episode will reportedly be tweaked to function as a conclusive series finale.

Another ABC casualty: 666 Park Avenue, which tells the story of an upscale Manhattan apartment building plagued by supernatural (and possibly demonic forces). Though the series' creators have promised "a powerful and surprising series finale, where all your questions will be answered," actor Dave Annable, the male lead, took the news harder, tweeting that ABC "fucked up" when it didn't take the series' impressive DVR numbers into consideration before cancelation.

CBS has launched many of its most popular comedies, including How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, and 2 Broke Girls, on Mondays at 8:30 p.m. But the lucky time slot failed to pay off for Partners, a sitcom about two best friends/business partners — one gay, one straight — navigating personal and professional problems together. Though seven episodes of Partners remain unaired, CBS has made no further announcement about when — or even if — the episodes will be made available in the future.

Over the past decade, the USA Network has built a stable of 1-hour comedy-mysteries including hits like Psych, White Collar, and Covert Affairs. But that tried-and-true formula failed with Common Law, which followed two male LAPD detectives who despise each other and are ordered to attend couples' counseling. USA's senior vice president of research broke the news on Twitter on October 31, thanking fans for watching and expressing their support.

NBC has enjoyed an uncharacteristically successful fall season, with freshman drama Revolution becoming the biggest hit among all new series — which may be why the network took an early axe to struggling freshman sitcom Animal Practice, which chronicled the wacky adventures of a veterinarian with a lab-coated monkey sidekick. The series was formally canceled after just six episodes, though NBC has made the remaining three episodes available for viewing at Hulu.com.

Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.

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