‘Animal Practice’ canceled by NBC; ‘Whitney’ in as replacement

We hate to tell you we told you so, but …. we did.

Only a matter of hours after “Animal Practice” posted its worst 18-49 rating of the season in a 1.0, NBC has already decided that it is putting the low-rated veterinarian comedy out to pasture. The show will live on primetime until November 7, but that’s it. (Honestly, we’re surprised that they are even keeping it around that long rather than promoting other shows via repeats.) In its place, the network will be airing new episodes of “Whitney” starting on November 14 in order to test out just how well that show can do in yet another new timeslot (its fourth in two seasons, at least if you count the one that had it airing on Fridays this year until NBC pulled the plug on it).

So why isn’t “Community” coming on its place? Well, to answer that question ahead of time, the answer there is pretty simple in our mind: NBC is trying to create a theme with their comedy block, and “Whitney” is a better fit. Since “Guys with Kids” seems safe for now despite its subpar ratings, it makes sense to pair a sitcom with another sitcom. “Community” is probably going to be saved at this point until the spring, and will replace wither “Up All Night” or “30 Rock” on the schedule given their shortened orders at the moment. (Let’s just hope it’s not up against “The Big Bang Theory” again.)

Before we end this article, let’s give one last goodbye to “Animal Practice” as a series. It was a great idea hampered from the get-go by a bad pilot that also offended many people wanting to watch the Olympics closing ceremony instead. It did have some funny moments, but they came after most people had decided not to give the show a chance. The only silver lining? This gives us a chance to start petitioning for JoAnna Garcia to place the Little Mermaid on “Once Upon a Time.”

Are you stunned at all by this cancellation given the bad ratings?