‘King of the Nerds’ canceled by TBS after three seasons; sifting through our emotions

We wish we had better news to report today for “King of the Nerds” fans, but it is sadly official: The show is not returning to TBS for a fourth season. The news is confirmed below by by co-host and executive producer Curtis Armstrong.

In some ways, we should not be that surprised; we did not hear that much about casting over the summer, and the ratings were down on average from season 2. Certainly you can fault TBS and their scheduling for some of that; Friday nights are a difficult environment for any show, especially a reality competition that has an audience of young people. Unfortunately, the reality is that unless you are a mainstay in this genre like a “Survivor” or a “Big Brother,” this is a hard climate for this genre these days. Look at “Whodunnit,” “The Quest,” or some other really fun shows that only got a single season. At least “King of the Nerds” had three, and we will be grateful to TBS for that much in the way we’re grateful that NBC gave us three years of “Hannibal.”

Of course, losing this show for us (at least for now; it’s possible someone else picks it up down the road) is tougher than the dozens of other cancellations we report throughout the year. As a “Beauty and the Geek” alum we felt like this was a spiritual successor in some ways, and it actually celebrated nerd culture in a way that no other show did. It was wacky, competitive, and stuffed full of tongue-in-cheek humor. There wasn’t really anything else on TV like it. We related to the contestants, and we almost feel like when they won, we won because it proved that people like us can win.

We’re going to miss the show a ton. Maybe someday there’ll be another reality show that inhabits its spirit and zeal for nerd culture, but for now we’ll give it a rousing round of applause as it takes its rightful place in the stars. Specifically, we refer it to a great constellation of reality series that were gone far too soon. Shine on, Nerdvana!

Share some of your reactions to the cancellation in the comments, and head over here to get some further TV news on everything we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: TBS.)

Update: For all of those who want to share your story about now about your love for the series, head over to this link. There you can view a number of other stories from cast members and other people who were inspired bit it, and want to see it back.