In a somewhat shocking move made by Fox, the network has reportedly decided to cancel The Mindy Project after three seasons.
In a late-night announcement by Entertainment Weekly, Fox has canceled the Mindy Kaling show after three seasons and 66 episodes.
It is not entirely shocking news as the ratings have been dismal by any standard, but the show did well in certain key demographics, like women ages 18-39, that are enticing to certain advertisers. Unfortunately, ratings have steadily fallen for the past few seasons, making it hard for Fox to continue to support the show.
The Mindy Project struggled to find its footing over three seasons, first positioning itself with a focus on Mindy Lahiri, dating aficionado with a successful career and no immediate plans for a family. But over the years that completely changed — Mindy and Danny got together in The Mindy Project season 2, and by (what is now known as) the series finale, they were expecting a baby together and Danny had flown to India, to ask for her hand in marriage.
As the Cancel Bear points out below, this is the first time in a long time a show that was not in syndication yet (where the “big bucks” are in television production) has been canceled.
#TheMindyProject becomes the first show in the past 7 yrs with 66 eps after 3 seasons to be canceled.
— The Cancel Bear (@TheCancelBear) May 7, 2015
But there’s still hope!
While Fox dropped the show, that may not be the end of The Mindy Project. Produced by Universal, the EW article also hints that Hulu may be in talks to pick it up.
The show’s producers are in serious talks with Hulu for multiple additional seasons. Hulu is a logical suitor, as it already has the streaming rights to all of the show’s episodes.
This would be unprecedented for Hulu, but not for online streaming platforms. Yahoo! picked up Community after its tumultuous run on NBC. Hulu also has experience with picking up previously created content — airing the final episodes of Selfie and A to Z after they were canceled by their networks earlier this television season.
This announcement is just the first in a slew of decisions the networks — ranging from NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and the CW, to cable networks — will be making within the next week about 2015 and 2016 television shows. Hypable will be updating our Renewals and Cancellations guide as news comes in about your favorite shows.