Was GLOW almost canceled? Mr. Mercedes renewed + Scrubs revival chatter (Quick Hits)
We’ve got a few different things to get to in this particular edition of Quick Hits, but let’s kick things off with the report that GLOW was at one point in relative danger of an early cancellation.
According to the Wall Street Journal, there were initially some considerations about ending the Alison Brie – Betty Gilpin comedy after one season, mostly coming from the publication’s tech side. Yet, it was the creative side of the company who convinced them to keep the show going, arguing that the critical success of the series, plus their relationship with executive producer Jenji Kohan, were good reasons to keep it alive.
All of this news is fascinating, mostly as a reminder that Netflix does not release ratings information for any of their shows. With that in mind, perhaps we all assumed that GLOW was a bigger hit than it actually was? (It has been renewed already for a third season; at this point, maybe the critical acclaim is driving more viewers overall to the series.) Netflix has said that they are very pleased with the direction of the story, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. Why would they say anything to the contrary?
As for some other news…
Mr. Mercedes renewed – Audience network is officially opted to bring the series back for a third season! There aren’t too many details available as of yet, but it is set for ten episodes and, if we’re lucky, it should premiere at some point in 2019. Given that this is one of their biggest series, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for them to leave it off the air for longer other than some sort of creative interest.
Could a Scrubs revival happen? – While we know that there are about a billion people who would welcome it, don’t count on it … at least in a permanent way. Speaking (via The Hollywood Reporter) while as VultureFest, show executive producer Bill Lawrence noted that he would be happy to revisit Sacred Heart for a short period of time … but felt like nothing beyond that would feasibly work:
“I would do anything to get to work with not only this group, but the writers, and do it again … If we ever do it, we’ll do it as a short little movie or something else. I think the problem from me is I would just want to see where everyone is. I would want to see where their marriages are.”
A short Scrubs movie may actually be the best thing, given that Neil Flynn has another job coming up and beyond that, revivals typically top out in their ratings with the first episode. You may as well do an hour-long special and then go about your merry way. It’s hard to ever top that.
Still, we would much prefer to Scrubs end in a way that was not season 9. That season, with its strange Med School premise, didn’t completely work — though it did bring you a good cast including Eliza Coupe and Kerry Bishe.
As always, we welcome some of your thoughts on this story below!