HBO just provided a reminder that nothing is a certainty in the world of television scheduling.
This past summer, the network announced that it had ordered a second season of farcical political comedy “The Brink.”
On Tuesday, it reversed that decision and confirmed that it would not, in fact, air a sophomore string of episodes.
“After evaluating our schedule and our programming needs, we unfortunately decided we cannot give The Brink the attention it deserves for a second season,” said HBO in a statement. “We are proud of the first season and wish everyone involved in this show the very best.”
While “The Brink” regularly lost a substantial portion of its “Ballers” lead-in, it was not a bad performer by today’s deflated cable comedy standards. Its weekly episodic viewership was comparable to that of HBO’s own “Veep” (the Emmy-winning “Veep,” however, maintains a significant edge in critical acclaim).