NBC Cancels 'Bad Judge' & 'A To Z' – TVWise

NBC is pulling the plug on two of their freshman series.
The network has cancelled comedy series Bad Judge, starring Grey’s Anatomy alum Kate Walsh, and A To Z, which hails from Warner Bros Television & stars Cristin Milioti and Ben Feldman, TVWise has learned.
Bad Jude and A To Z, which comprise NBC’s Thursday night 9pm-10pm comedy block, are only part way through production on their 13 episode orders, with Bad Judge having shot 10 episodes, while A To Z has filmed 11. Despite the cancellations, NBC said that both series will complete production and remain on the schedule until all 13 episodes have aired.
Initially premiering in mid-September, neither series became the breakout comedy hit that NBC had been hoping for. Bad Judge debuted to an ok 5.8 million viewers and a 1.3 A18-49 demon, while A To Z launched with an audience of 4.8 million viewers and a 1.2 A18-49 rating. In the following weeks, ratings declined with stiff from competition from ABC’s Scandal and, this week, CBS’ The Big Bang Theory. The most recent episodes of Bad Judge and A To Z logged 3.9 million viewers/0.9 A18-49 and 2.5 million viewers and a 0.7, respectively.
It has been a generally good Fall for the networks, with only one such series before Bad Judge and A To Z having been cancelled – ABC’s Manhattan Love Story, which, like A To Z, saw its ratings sink to a 0.7 demo rating before being cancelled. That being said, earlier this season NBC also pre-emptively cancelled midseason comedy Mission Control.
For NBC, the move to cancel both Bad Judge and A To Z comes mere days after network President Jennifer Salke handed out a back nine order to freshman dramedy The Mysteries Of Laura. Of NBC’s remaining new Fall shows, Marry Me has a decent shot at a full season order, as does Constantine – if the ratings hold steady in the weeks ahead.