ABC reality head John Saade departs; ‘Whodunnit?’ season 2 now in question

Earlier this year, we lost one network pioneer of reality television as Kevin Reilly, who helped build “American Idol” into a juggernaut, parted ways with Fox. Now, we are reporting news that is rather similar when it comes to ABC: Reality chief John Saade is departing the network after being around since 2004. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, ABC Entertainment Group President Paul Lee had the following to say on the subject:

“John is a very talented executive who has made enormous contributions to ABC and the reality genre, developing some truly innovative, buzz worthy programming and growing some of our most important franchises. We will miss his passion and enthusiasm and wish him nothing but the very best.”

Saade is in part responsible for so much reality TV history, including overseeing the success of “Dancing with the Stars,” “The Bachelor” (which was created prior to him arriving), “Shark Tank,” and the ever-so-silly “Wipeout.” He also handled late-night TV, and is a huge reason why “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is now a major competitor to “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

Unfortunately, reality TV has struggled to produce many revolutionary hits these days, and ABC has had some major flops. “Skating with the Stars” bombed terribly as a winter series, and the singing-competition show “Duets” fizzled despite having a pre-“Blurred Lines” Robin Thicke. “The Taste” and “Secret Millionaire” have become decent performers, but hardly hits. He also made some moves to try to appease us hardcore reality buffs, including helping to revive “The Mole” back in 2008, that just didn’t work out.

The biggest question mark that comes in now is the future of “Whodunnit,” a show that we absolutely loved that aired this summer and grew progressively stronger every week. The ratings were not outstanding, but they grew in the final weeks. The issue is that there will be a new person (likely former E! executive Lisa Berger) who could look to put her own stamp on things. Show creator Anthony Zuiker was previously confident on a season 2 renewal, but he has since said on Twitter that this change puts the show in a “holding pattern” for now. It still could be renewed, but it is going to really be a measure of how those affiliated with the show can state their case (pun intended) to the new powers-that-be.

We have personally hyped up “Whodunnit’s” renewal efforts for quite a while, including by stating some reasons why the show should be renewed. We’ll continue to do so now, especially since the show needs the support now more than ever.

Photo: ABC