"So...shocking to no one: #agiftedman is done. Found out via email...and not from the network. Stay classy. Thanks to AGM fans! ... but now that it's "official," I couldn't be happier. As good as it was (sometimes) it was not what I signed on for."Kristin Chenoweth just tweeted this morning about how her show, GCB, is not coming back and she is clearly surprised,
"I seriously can't believe with our ratings GCB is cancelled!"The news that her show is not coming back has been out there for several days, so it's taking a while to sink in. Same with Kathy Bates. Harry's Law was canceled and she has taken to Twitter to commiserate with fans responding to tweets that she is "hanging in there." She sent out a thank you to her fans last night,
"Thanks all you HL Tweeters. You guys amaze me with your love and support. You've made it easier to come to grips with this disappointment."On the other side of the coin is the people who work on the shows that got picked up or are continuing for another season. They are all having a Twitter party. The cast of Parenthood tweeted what seemed to be genuine surprise and gratitude about their show sticking around for a fourth season. Mindy Kaling's pilot was picked up and she played the announcement cool by retweeting congrats from her fellow working actors and thanking them. She also congratulated other shows that got picked up, like Whitney and Parks and Rec, by retweeting them or quoting them.
Basically, Twitter was one giant mood swing this week for those in the business of television. And those are just people I follow or heard about or chose to mention. There were plenty of writers, directors, show creators and more actors that sent out their excitement or disappointment this week and it has been interesting to follow along.
I was particularly invested this year in hearing about which pilots were getting picked up because I had several friends cast on pilots and I had my fingers crossed. The shows they worked on all seemed like shoe-ins. Major established stars and/or established plot formulas anchored their shows and I thought, "This is it! They did it! They booked shows - good shows - and now they are going to be steadily working for a long time. Dreams come true, y'all!"
Dot. Dot. Dot.
...that's what it sounded like as news started trickling out late last week about which shows the networks were going with. As the day grew longer and more shows were announced and the ones I was crossing my fingers for didn't make the lists, the sound of the ellipses grew louder. I can only imagine how deafening it was for my friends actually on these shows. I was just a cheerleader, hoping for a touchdown. They are the ones that got left sitting on the sidelines, not getting a chance to play. Surely having worked on these pilots will open doors for them and opportunities will continue to happen but I'm disappointed. I was really hoping that the doors that they had already opened would stay open.
I think that is why I'm so enthralled with the emotional roller coaster happening over on Twitter this past week. No matter how established your career is - whether you're just starting out or you've been working for decades - you're not immune to the disappointments. Or to the excitements. Which isn't a great revelation but the emotional fallout has never really been this accessible. Most people working seem to realize how rare that is. And those left without a job are wondering where they'll end up next. And those on the sidelines are hoping to get into the game. And those of us cheerleading hope to be sitting on the sidelines next time around. To mix my sporting metaphors, I feel like a lot of people are thinking..."Put me in coach...I'm ready to play today."
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