Rueben's Ramblings

This year few shows have been officially cancelled by ABC, despite two shows being given either shorter seasons or no-back nine. But, the two shows that fit into this “not cancelled but cancelled” model also featured strong women. I can’t tell what about either show didn’t work, however.

Conviction featured Hayley Atwell, on another ABC show after Agent Carter was cancelled, and Notorious starred Piper Perabo who has seen previous success.

Both shows had premises that should have captured audiences (Conviction took on a case of the week in a way that mirrored Castle and Notorious did a job of setting up a case of the week and the draw of celebrity culture), but neither gathered much support.

Is the reason that these two shows failed something that can be the fault of the structure (Conviction is possibly a little too how the sausage gets made for fans of Castle) or is it just that shows with strong women seem to be trouble for ABC?

Fans loved Atwell’s Agent Carter, but it always floundered in the ratings. This time around for Atwell, her character, Hayes Morrison, is rather tough to take, being the sort of unlikeable character that can be charming or disheartening. The same could be said for Perabo’s Julia George, or it could be the premise that rubbed everyone the wrong way.

As we have seen in politics, what was expected is not always what happens, and perhaps in a year where Hillary Clinton was belittled for her strong positions, both Hayes Morrison and Julia George were caught in the backlash?

I doubt we’ll know what the real reason for why both of these shows were essentially cancelled, but to see strong women leading shows and to see those shows not succeed is difficult to take for this woman.

I pride myself on being strong and taking what I want and so did Hayes and Julia. Too bad we won’t see more of their stories, especially if it means I need to watch my own attitude in public.