STAR season 4 being shopped to other networks; why it was canceled

Even though Fox may have quite shockingly chosen to cancel STAR after three seasons, it does seem like the music drama may still have a future somewhere else.

According to a new report coming out right now via Deadline, studio 20th Century Fox TV is shopping the series around to some other buyers — and we have to think that there could be some interested parties. Hulu, for example, seems like a perfectly natural fit. The studio is now owned by Disney, for example, and Disney has a big ownership stake in Hulu. Meanwhile, STAR is already streaming on the platform so there could be an audience there for it already. All of this tends to line up in a way that makes us think that it could arrive there.

Another interesting arrangement to think about right now is the Nashville model, one where the country-music show was canceled by ABC and then moved over to CMT/Hulu, which split some of the show’s financial responsibility. Could a cable network like BET or VH1 pony up and contribute some money to the cause of keeping STAR around for another season? Is Freeform, which is also within the Disney umbrella, a viable possibility? We wouldn’t rule out any of these as possible suitors, though one of the always-friendly go-to picks in Netflix seems like a long-shot. They don’t pick up canceled shows as much as anyone would think, and in general right now they seem to be largely pre-occupied on canceling a number of shows that they already have.

So why was STAR canceled in the first place?

While the ratings for the show on Fox were decent, here’s your reminder that there is so much more that goes into making a show like this. For example, it was a costly one to produce, likely because of all of the musical moments and the costumes. Meanwhile, it also happened to be a harder sell internationally that some of the other shows at the studio. That may be due, in part, to it not being a familiar franchise and it not having a cast full of particularly big names. Queen Latifah has an international following, but unless you count guest stars like Paris Jackson or some big names in the music business, there weren’t too many well-known regulars elsewhere.

We do still feel like there is a legitimate chance another network picks this show up, mostly because those live ratings in the US are nothing to sneeze at. The challenge here is going to be finding a way for even 70% of the people currently watching STAR to do so at a new home, given that shows on the move often lose a chunk of their viewership. We think that if STAR could average a 0.6 or 0.7 in the 18-49 demographic for a network like a BET or VH1, they’d probably pick it up ASAP.

Are there any places that you’d like to see STAR end up? Be sure to share in the comments, and check back soon for more.