
On Tuesday, WGN America announced that sophomore show, Underground, would not return for a third season. Already the cast and creative team are trying to get the show on another network (or streaming service), but generally fans are sad and frustrated that the show was cancelled.
However, the show is not the only WGN America show to be cancelled this week – Outsiders was also cancelled by the new CEO in an effort to rebrand the station. Just a few years ago, the idea of original programs (Salem, Manhattan, Underground and Outsiders) was seen as a way to branch the network away from its roots as a local Tribune station.
Winds change – as does management – but the end of all of these show (but Underground most of all) changes what types of shows are available on TV. What stood out for all of these WGN America shows was a strong sense of different narratives – all of the shows were ground in some real history but took different spins and turns on the same facts that most people know.
Underground was difficult to watch – rightly so – but it raised awareness of issues of race and class that are still relevant to all of us today. The show’s themes hit the right moment in the zeitgeist but each of the shows that are no longer on the air were important to thinking about larger issues.
Regardless of why Underground has left the air (for now), the show made many fans realize more of the cruelties of slavery while also celebrating triumphs in difficult times.
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Underground: Gone too Soon
Posted in Commentary, News, Television on June 2, 2017| Leave a Comment »
On Tuesday, WGN America announced that sophomore show, Underground, would not return for a third season. Already the cast and creative team are trying to get the show on another network (or streaming service), but generally fans are sad and frustrated that the show was cancelled.
However, the show is not the only WGN America show to be cancelled this week – Outsiders was also cancelled by the new CEO in an effort to rebrand the station. Just a few years ago, the idea of original programs (Salem, Manhattan, Underground and Outsiders) was seen as a way to branch the network away from its roots as a local Tribune station.
Winds change – as does management – but the end of all of these show (but Underground most of all) changes what types of shows are available on TV. What stood out for all of these WGN America shows was a strong sense of different narratives – all of the shows were ground in some real history but took different spins and turns on the same facts that most people know.
Underground was difficult to watch – rightly so – but it raised awareness of issues of race and class that are still relevant to all of us today. The show’s themes hit the right moment in the zeitgeist but each of the shows that are no longer on the air were important to thinking about larger issues.
Regardless of why Underground has left the air (for now), the show made many fans realize more of the cruelties of slavery while also celebrating triumphs in difficult times.
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