Fox Cancels ‘The Grinder,’ ‘Grandfathered,’ ‘Bordertown’ After First Seasons
Fox has cancelled “Grandfathered,” “The Grinder” and animated comedy “Bordertown,” Variety has learned.
“The Grinder” starred Rob Lowe, “Grandfathered” starred John Stamos, and “Bordertown” hailed from “Family Guy” exec producers Seth MacFarlane and Mark Hentemann. All three comedies launched this past TV season, with “Grinder” and “Grandfathered” paired together on Tuesdays as a back-to-back night of new sitcoms with famous faces, and “Bordertown” airing Sunday night as part of Fox’s animation block.
Lowe tweeted his reaction to the cancellation on Thursday afternoon.
#TheGrinder was not renewed by @FOXTV It was unapologetically original, smart, funny and had a murder's row of talent. #GrinderRests.
— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) May 12, 2016
The great news is, that film is forever. And I'm thrilled to have 22 episodes that were as acclaimed as they were. Time well spent!
— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) May 12, 2016
And there is still Grindr. So there's that. #NotAllBadNews
— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) May 12, 2016
Even with a hitmaking executive producer in MacFarlane or beloved TV stars in Lowe and Stamos, the comedies failed to generate much noise in the ratings, as has been the case with many broadcast laffers in recent years.
“Grandfathered” was the top-rated of the cancelled Fox comedies, averaging a 1.4 rating in adults 18-49 and 4 million total viewers in Nielsen’s “live plus-7” estimates, while Tuesday skedmate “The Grinder” averaged a 1.2 in the demo and 3.3 million. “Bordertown” was a ratings bust from the start on Sundays, averaging a 0.9 rating in adults 18-49 and a little over 2 million viewers in L+7.
“The Grinder” starred Fred Savage as a small-town lawyer, alongside Lowe as his brother, an actor who once played a lawyer on television. Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel created the series. 20th Century Fox produced the comedy.
“Grandfathered” was one of the hottest projects last pilot season, as execs were excited about a vehicle for Stamos. In the series, created by Danny Chun, the “Full House” alum starred as a bachelor who suddenly learns he not only has a grown son, but also a granddaughter.
“Bordertown” centered around around two families living in a Southwest desert town on the U.S. – Mexico border and featured the vocal talents of Hank Azaria, Nicholas Gonzalez, Alex Borstein, Judah Friedlander, Missi Pyle, Jacqueline Piñol, Efren Ramirez and Carlos Alazraqui.
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