ABC’s Karey Burke On ‘The Kids Are Alright’ Cancellation: “Fanbase Was Not Strong Enough” – TCA
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The ABC comedy The Kids Are Alright was canceled in May after one season and fans — including TCA members — still want answers. ABC Boss Karey Burke addressed the cancellation of the series created by Tim Doyle and starring Michael Cudlitz and Mary McCormack.
Burke said that they looked at the show’s ratings from every angle but “did not see enough upside.” They also examined its multi-platform and social media performances and it just didn’t look good for the series.
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“There did not seem to be a strong enough fanbase at the time,” Burke, who is a fan of the show, added. “This was a tough business decision.”
She later said that there wasn’t a science to making the decision to cancel. “We look at what has the brightest creative future,” she remarked. “When we did the analysis, things weren’t quite equal.”
Ratings-wise, The Kids Are Alright was erratic since its debut. It started strong among the 18-49 demographic, then went up and down from there. The comedy premiered October 16 last year and wrapped May 21. The series followed a very traditional Irish-Catholic family in suburban L.A. amidst the hangover from the 1960s, parents Mike (Cudlitz) and Peggy (McCormack) are overwhelmed raising eight boys and are hit by a figurative truck when oldest son Lawrence (Sam Straley) returns home to declare he’s quitting the seminary to “save the world.”
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