The network has confirmed that it canceled the Sean Hayes-starring freshman comedy, which had filmed two of its remaining five episodes.
- Jan 29, 2014
AceShowbiz - "Sean Saves the World" can't save itself from cancellation. NBC has shut down production on the rookie sitcom starring "Will & Grace" alum Sean Hayes which has struggled in the ratings.
"Thanks to @SeanSavesWorld actors & crew & @NBC for a wonderful opportunity," Hayes tweeted after the news broke, jokingly adding, "Looking forward to Obama's minimum wage increase to $10/hr." He also said that he'd "never laughed harder" than he did on the show.
Co-star Megan Hilty also took to Twitter to address the show's cancellation. She wrote, "Thanks for all the kind words about the cancelation of #SSTW. I'm a lucky lady to have gotten to work with such an incredible cast & crew!"
NBC initially ordered 13 episodes of the freshman series before ordering 5 additional episodes. 13 episodes have aired. The two new episodes will reportedly air after the winter Olympics. NBC has earlier pre-empted its Thursday line-up for an "SNL Sports Spectacular" special this week.
Marking Hayes' return to NBC after "Will & Grace" wrapped up in 2006, "Sean Saves the World" follows a divorced gay father (Hayes) who's trying to juggle a career, a 14-year-old daughter and an overbearing mother. It is averaging a 1.4 rating with adults 18-49 in live-plus-7 returns, with the last episode only bringing in 2.6 million viewers.
Another freshman comedy, "The Michael J. Fox Show", also has a lackluster performance, though it posts an average of 1.8 rating among adults 18-49 in DVR use, 50|percent| higher than "Sean Saves the World". The Michael J. Fox-starring series had a straight-to-series 22-episode order, which was completed in December.
