Sweet/Vicious canceled by MTV; creator pens touching note
In terms of the show’s ratings, it’s no shock that the show is over — they were meager, and there wasn’t much in the way of live+same day improvement in order to convince executives that this was worth another shot. Do we think that it’s a short-sighted mistake? We would argue that a show like this, especially in a peak TV era where there simply are only so many shows that people can keep track of at a given time, it needs time for people to find it and assurances from the network that it is not going to go anywhere. If this show had a good year for people to discover it, more of them may have been able to and it, in turn, could’ve performed better in a second season.
In a way, though, another cause for the cancellation may just be MTV’s own reputation for not necessarily carrying their scripted content as far as many people would like. Take a look at another beloved show in Faking It, or some of the various comedies / dramas that have come by the wayside since the network started getting into scripted content. (Finding Carter is another good example.) If they’re not seeing the return that they want for a show, they will cancel it often without regard for closure for some of the series’ fans.
If there is one big of credit we’ll give those executives now, it’s that they did seem to take their time debating about whether or not to bring Sweet/Vicious back. We do think that there were many things that they loved about the show, with one of the biggest ones being the timeliness of a story about two young women serving as vigilantes to help victims of sexual assault on campus. There wasn’t quite anything that was tonally out there like this.
Update: An MTV spokesperson has sent over the following statement:
“MTV has decided to not move forward with a second season of ‘Sweet/Vicious.’ We are extremely proud of this critically acclaimed series and are deeply disappointed such an impactful show did not find a larger audience. ‘Sweet/Vicious’ was a show we loved from the start, with empowering female leads and a message we believe in. We are grateful the series started a much needed dialogue around sexual assault, and thank the talented Jennifer Robinson, Amanda Lasher, Stacey Sher and the stellar cast, writers and producers for creating such a timely and thought provoking series.”
What is your take on the cancellation, and do you hope that the show could somehow find a future somewhere else? Sound off with some of your thoughts in the comments below! (Photo: MTV.)