Downward Dog canceled by ABC after one season

Unfortunately, things are not looking up for Downward Dog — the comedy from ABC is officially canceled after just one season.

In a post on Twitter, show executive producer Samm Hodges confirmed the news, saying that the network did try to make things work for the show but couldn’t find the right avenues to do so financially; with that, there is still a commitment out there to keep the show alive. Maybe the show will end up finding another home for itself after the final episodes air on the network, but it is too early to tell.

This is a show that did have a great deal of charm, and to go along with that, a fantastic lead in Allison Tolman of Fargo fame. So what went wrong? The biggest issue that Downward Dog faced was merely its schedule. ABC may have supported the show by putting it on the air, but it did not have much in the way of an opportunity to succeed. It aired opposite one of TV’s highest-rated shows in America’s Got Talent, and just in case that was not enough of a challenge for the show, remember that it also didn’t have much in the way of a lead-in to support it. Tolman is also still a relative newcomer despite her Fargo role, and the show was lacking a mainstream star. If effectively sat on the shelf for a good year following the ABC upfronts in 2016, which was when the show was first introduced.

Still, it was a charming, sweet comedy about companionship that highlighted pets in a way few other shows do. This was a show that is worth seeing more of down the road, provided that another network can find a way to make the show work.

ABC had to make a decision on Downward Dog by the end of the month, given that the contracts for the cast were expiring. Now, the future of only one other show in The Carmichael Show over at NBC remains to be seen; these complicated decisions from networks in the summer are strained by the decision to air them off-cycle. Given how buzz-worthy this show is, there’s a reasonably good shot that it finds a way to stick around. It’s doing something that few other shows on television do these days.

What is your response to the Downward Dog cancellation, and do you think that another home for the show will surface? Share in the comments! (Photo: ABC.)