Multiple sources reported Tuesday night that FOX decided to cancel drama “Human Target” after its low-rated second season.
The network had definitely put some muscle behind the action-oriented series, pairing it with the “24” launch for its series premiere last year and giving it nightly partnership with flagship “American Idol” for a chunk of its run, but at the end of the day, it simply could not deliver the goods in the ratings department.
Without help from “Idol” for its Wednesday return this fall, its second season got off to a disappointing start. It showed some surprising strength for a special Monday airing this year, but when re-paired with “Idol,” this time as a lead-out, it utterly failed to click, squandering a significant portion of the “Idol” holdover audience.
— THR added that pilot “Weekends at Bellevue,” which some were reporting as a near-lock for FOX’s schedule as recently as this weekend, will not get a series order from the network. Deadline had previously said it was being eyed as a solid companion/eventual replacement for “House.”
Changing directions in a tv series often turns out badly. Like “Joan of Arcadia,” “Human target” reversed field in its second year. That English actress from “Rome” compromised the team’s independence and unnecessarily complicated its story lines. It’s hard to turn a comic book into a “meaningful” drama by sabotaging its basic premise.