Deception season 2 renewal: Why isn’t it happening?

Will there be a Deception season 2 renewal after Sunday night’s finale? We do think that the demand is going to be there. Unfortunately, it isn’t actually going to happen — at least at ABC, and at the moment, there is no clear evidence of it happening anywhere else.

So what sunk this show in the first place? We’d say first and foremost, it’s the a sheer lack of ABC marketing. This is a show that probably needed a more extensive promotion campaign than most, largely because of the fact that it doesn’t have any major stars. On paper, though, the idea of a mystery series all about magic should have been appealing, really to the point where had it been promoted a little differently, it should have worked. ABC found success for years with Castle, a show all about a mystery author who solved crimes with the help of a formidable partner. Deception had the same sort of potential.

You can argue here that another problem comes mostly via its timeslot. Sunday nights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern have show themselves to be quite murderous for ABC for a rather long time now — for some more evidence of that, just look at the likes of Ten Days in the Valley or American Crime last spring. ABC tried to make Quantico work in a different timeslot after it couldn’t get any traction here — so far, Shark Tank is the only thing that has held its own here over the past couple of years, most likely because it’s a zero-commitment show with a simple, accessible premise at the heart of it. You can get in and get out without a problem at all.

If there is an update on the show’s future, including a possible new home, we will let you know. Alas, we’re just now altogether optimistic about it at present.

What do you think: Should we get a Deception season 2 renewal over at ABC? Share right now in the attached comments!