‘Necessary Roughness’ canceled by USA after three seasons

Out of all of the cancellation stories out there, this one really makes us pretty sad. After three seasons on the air, USA had made the move to not renew “Necessary Roughness” for a fourth season, meaning that the Callie Throne sports drama will end its journey in what feels like at the 40-yard line just before it was starting to get into field-goal range. The show was not always perfect, but we appreciated how it at least tried to tell an interesting, fictional story about the sports world. That’s not something that is really tacked in very many other players, especially when it comes to tackling real issues such as mental health and sexuality.

This news was first reported by Deadline, and in a statement to them the network had the following to say in what basically can be construed as a hearty pat on the back (though not much else):

“We are proud of this show and its writers, which had a unique ability to address topical subjects before they unfolded in real life on the sports pages. We want to thank Liz Kruger and Craig Shapiro, the incredible cast led by Golden Globe nominee Callie Thorne and our partners at Sony Television.”

What makes this decision somewhat interesting is that it is not one that USA really had to consider. It’s not like this show was a dud by any means; it just wasn’t a smash hit, either, and even starting a creative reboot-of-sorts that led to bringing in John Stamos really did not help to improve the viewing figures at all. They probably could have given it another season or two and had its ratings be fine, but the network has changed its priorities the last few years, thanks in part to what we believe to be their pickup of “Modern Family” in syndication. They want their original programming to be very profitable and also buzzworthy, and this was a show that just couldn’t pull headlines for some reason.

Are you bummed to see “Necessary Roughness” go at this point? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.

Photo: USA