Fox is trimming the size of freshman comedy Mulaney.
The network has cut the order for the show’s first season to thirteen episodes, down from the sixteen episodes that had previously been ordered, TVWise has learned.
Created, written by and starring John Mulaney, the series is set in New York and follows an aspiring comedian coming of age under the influence of his boss, his roommates and his neighbours. It is produced by Universal Television, Broadway Video & 3 Arts Entertainment and stars John Mulaney, Martin Short, Zack Pearlman, Elliott Gould, Seaton Smith and Nasim Pedrad.
The show, which was initially picked up to series with a six episode order in October 2013, before subsequently receiving a 10 episode back order in May, premiered in its Sunday night time-slot earlier this month, where its has struggled to draw much of an audience – with the series premiere drawing 2.3 million viewers and a 1.0 A18-49 rating. That said, the most recent episode show some slight signs of growth in the demo with an audience of 2.19 million viewers and a 1.1 A18-49 rating.
Fox said that all 13 episodes of Mulaney will air in the Sunday night 9:30pm time-slot, in the hopes that the growth in the demo will continue in the coming weeks. The episode order reduction, which was made just as production was about to begin on episode 14, has been one of the first programming decisions for the 2014-2015 season that new network toppers Gary Newman and Dana Walden have made since taking the reins over the summer.
Even with the episode reduction, Fox will not be hurting for comedies. The network also has Will Forte’s The Last Man On Earth; Weird Loners, starring Happy Endings alum Zachary Knighton; and animated comedy Border Town, from Family Guy executive producer Seth MacFarlane – all of which are eyed for slots on Fox’s midseason schedule.
