NBC cancels fan-favorite series after just 1 season as show was hit with filming struggles due to writer’s strikes
NBC has canceled Extended Family after just one season.
The comedy's first season finished in March after 13 episodes, but the show's production was delayed due to writer's strikes.
NBC decided against renewing the show after awarding several other shows a new season order.
Night Court, Lopez vs. Lopez, and Happy’s Place, the comedy starring Reba McEntire, will all return later this year and next.
Extended Family, however, was not renewed for next year.
While there was no official reason given, the first season of production was hugely interrupted due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes.
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Extended Family was given a pilot episode in 2022, which was hugely successful with several stars signing up, including Jon Cryer, best known from Two and a Half Men, Abigail Spencer, most recently in Grey's Anatomy, and Donald Faison, best known as Dr. Chris Turk in Scrubs.
Filming coincided with the strikes, which made it impossible for a few months.
Six episodes were completed before the strikes, and the show went back into production four days after the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
The show eventually premiered in December 2023.
Extended Family follows Jim, played by Cryer, and Julia, played by Spencer who navigate family life and taking care of their kids after a divorce.
The show gained several social media fans, with several upset over the news of the cancellation.
"@nbc I'm over you too. How dare you cancel Extended Family," wrote one upset fan on X, formerly Twitter.
"How does NBC expect to rebuild their once-impenetrable sitcom reign if they keep canceling all of the new ones after only one season? What happened to actually investing in your shows?" added another.
"I swear to God! It's like NBC don't want viewers!!!" noted a third exasperated fan.
Show creator Mike O'Malley appeared hopeful about Extended Family being renewed before the news.
I think our ratings have been good. Everyone in our business knows how hard it is to find stories, write stories, write episodes
Mike O'Malley
He started by saying he was "optimistic," about the show.
"But I’ve been around long enough to know that 80 million things could happen between now and then," he said.
"I think our ratings have been good. Everyone in our business knows how hard it is to find stories, write stories, write episodes. The cast is unbelievable.
"We also have great kids. Everyone knows how hard it is to get a cast that feels like a family and is good at making sitcoms," he concluded.
ACTOR STRIKES
On July 13, 2023, it was revealed that the Screen Actors Guild would be going on strike - raising curiosity about its possible ramifications on the daily function of Hollywood.
SAG-AFTRA went on strike as a result of a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
The strike was led by changes in the industry caused by streaming and its effect on residuals.
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It was also in favor of preventing other new technologies like AI from replacing actors on set by scanning their faces to generate performances digitally.
National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator of SAG-AFTRA, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, said the studios "left us with no alternative" than to strike.