It's official: "Bunheads" has been canceled by ABC Family after one season.
"Bunheads is a wonderful series that we are very proud to have aired. The series had amazing storytelling, the most talented cast and a passionate and loyal fan base. Recognizing all of this, we took extra time to try and find ways to bring the series back for another season, but in the end it simply wasn’t possible. We wish the cast and crew the best in their future endeavors," an ABC Family spokesperson said of the cancellation.
The series starred Broadway veteran Sutton Foster and Kelly Bishop, and was created by "Gilmore Girls" mastermind Amy Sherman-Palladino. The show's 18-episode first season ended in February, but ABC Family opted to delay making a decision on the fates of both "Bunheads" and "The Lying Game" until after its new 2013 series premiered.
With freshman series "The Fosters" showing continued ratings growth with each new episode (and ranking as Monday's top scripted TV broadcast in the women 12-34 demo), the return of "Bunheads" seemed like a long shot, especially following the cancellation of "The Lying Game" last week. The network's other new show, "Twisted," earned 1.6 million viewers in its series premiere.
ABC Family has already renewed its top-rated series, "Pretty Little Liars," for a fifth season, as well as commissioning a spinoff called "Ravenswood' for fall.
Despite its lukewarm ratings, "Bunheads" inspired loyalty in fans and critics alike, with many sites imploring ABC Family to renew the quirky series. "Its characters have pop culture addictions that rival 'Community‘s.' It’s the unusual show about women that has good male characters ... but that hasn’t subverted its female characters to their development, creating an unusual degree of gender balance. And it’s a show that’s not afraid of real sadness, but that doesn’t need to beat up on its characters to let them fail," ThinkProgress' Alyssa Rosenberg wrote in March. Slate's David Weigel dubbed it "the best show on TV."
Will you miss "Bunheads"?