Hot on the heels of picking up Ioan Gruffudd starrer Forever for a back-nine order, ABC has pulled the plug on freshman comedy Selfie, opting not to order any more installments past the series’ initial 13-episode order.
It was always an uphill battle for the social media-centric comedy, which starred Doctor Who‘s Karen Gillan and Harold and Kumar‘s John Cho. Well ahead of its September premiere, the pilot was derided by critics who took umbrage with its on-the-nose title, uneasy blend of gross-out gags and pop culture references and deliberately unlikable lead.
And when it finally did arrive, Selfie received a mediocre 5.3 million viewers and a 1.6 rating among adults 18-to-49, immediately raising questions about whether ABC would stick with it. As subsequent episodes dropped viewers, Selfie‘s chances of survival grew increasingly slim.
Selfie will still air remaining episodes in its Tuesday 8 p.m. time slot, but it’s unclear whether the Emily Kapnek-created comedy will remain on the schedule once the 13 ordered episodes have aired.
This fall season has been particularly tough for freshman comedies. ABC was quick to slay Manhattan Love Story after it premiered low and got even lower in following weeks, while NBC has also decided not to order additional episodes of its first-year comedies Bad Judge and A to Z past their initial 13-episode orders. Meanwhile, Fox has cut Mulaney from its bizarre 16-episode order down to a more standard 13 episodes, and that mediocrely-rated series’ chances of a second season seem miniscule.
Tell us, are you sorry to see Selfie go, or did you never catch on to the series?
