‘Single Parents,’ ‘Schooled’ & More Casts and Creators React to ABC Cancellations

ABC is preparing for 2020-2021 by revealing which of its shows will (and won’t) be returning for another season at the network.

The casualties? Single Parents, Schooled, Bless This Mess, Emergence, and Kids Say the Darndest Things have officially been canceled. Needless to say, the news came as a shock to fans and the casts and creators took to social media to react and respond.

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While it’s never easy to say goodbye, most social posts conveyed gratitude for the chance to bring these shows to viewers. “Breaking protocol,” Schooled‘s co-creator Adam F. Goldberg wrote on Twitter shortly before the cancellation embargo, “[I] wanted the @goldnerds to hear it from me. @SchooledABC won’t get a season 3. Big hugs to our brilliant cast, crew & writers.”

I’m breaking protocol, but wanted the @goldnerds to hear it from me. @SchooledABC won’t get a season 3. Big hugs to our brilliant cast, crew & writers. I’m beyond grateful to Karey Burke and @ABCNetwork for giving us 35 episodes to show that teachers like CB are the real heroes. pic.twitter.com/ox7piI5tcO

— Adam F. Goldberg (@adamfgoldberg) May 21, 2020

Meanwhile, the stars and creators of Single Parents had nothing but love for one another, as co-creator J.J. Philbin thanked fans while #savesingleparents began trending on Twitter shortly after the axing. “To everyone who watched, thank you for the support,” she wrote. “And to my @singleparentstv family — that wasn’t a job, that was a pleasure. I’ll miss you so much.”

 

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Thanks to all of you who love our show enough to try to save it. Working on it was pure joy, and I’m just sorry that we won’t be able to give the characters the happy endings they deserve. To everyone who watched, thank you for the support. And to my @singleparentstv family – that wasn’t a job, that was a pleasure. I’ll miss you so much.

A post shared by jjphilbin (@jjphilbin) on May 21, 2020 at 4:04pm PDT

Philbin’s husband Mike Schur (The Good Place, Parks and Recreation) also voiced his thoughts on the news, tweeting in support of saving the series. “My wife and an incredibly talented team of actors, writers, and crew members people made a great comedy… and it more than deserves to have another season! #savesingleparents.”

My wife and an incredibly talented team of actors, writers, and crew members people made a great comedy for @ABCNetwork and it more than deserves to have another season! #savesingleparents @SingleParentsTV

— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) May 21, 2020

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Star Taran Killam lamented the show’s loss on Instagram, sharing a sweet cast picture alongside the caption, “Bummed to not be telling more stories with these characters but overwhelmingly grateful to be given the opportunity to do it in the first place.”

 

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Bummed to not be telling more stories with these characters but overwhelmingly grateful to be given the opportunity to do it in the first place. We did 45 episodes (17 seasons on Netflix). Thank you to @20thcenturystudios @abcnetwork @jjphilbin @lizmeriwether @jasonwiner @eeomalley @popekatherine our writers, our crew, our cast and most of all our wonderfully loving fans. #HaveAGoodSummerInBarstow

A post shared by Taran Killam (@tarzannoz) on May 21, 2020 at 3:51pm PDT

Killam’s costars Jake Choi and Kimrie Lewis also posted some messages with a similar sentiment on their own Instagram pages.

 

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Sad to say goodbye but man am I blessed to have worked with such amazing human beings. Thank you to everyone who supported the show 💙 #SingleParents

A post shared by Jake Choi (@thejakechoi) on May 21, 2020 at 7:48pm PDT

 

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What a joy it’s been to play Poppy these past 2 seasons. Her heart, humor, brains (hello Winebrary!), resilience (divorce sucks, IYKYK), style (gimme ALL her dresses!), beauty (even in pjs, Poppy was fierce!), and clap backs (v-i-b-e…) made her such a joy to play. The ultimate honor was paying tribute to the incredible single mom who raised me (love you mommy) and all the single moms in my life and have met along the way. Y’all are the real MVPs. I’ll miss this show but I couldn’t be prouder of the work we did on Single Parents for the past 2 seasons. Sending huge virtual hugs to our insanely talented cast & writers and hard working crew. Thank you to our wonderful EPs, @abcnetwork and @foxtv for giving this girl from South Central a shot. And my deepest appreciation to our #SingleParents fans, our ride-or-dies, the #popplas fam & our village…Love y’all.

A post shared by Kimrie Lewis (@iamkimrie) on May 21, 2020 at 4:40pm PDT

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Elizabeth Meriwether, who co-created both Single Parents and Bless This Mess, likened the news to Game of Thrones‘ infamous Red Wedding, “Two shows canceled in one day? I get the message, ABC! This is my broadcast Red Wedding,” she joked. “But seriously, folks, thank you so much for watching these shows. We loved making them. We loved writing them.”

 

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Bless This Mess and Single Parents won’t be coming back for third seasons. Two shows canceled in one day? I get the message, ABC! This is my broadcast Red Wedding. But seriously, folks, thank you so much for watching these shows. We loved making them. We loved writing them. I feel so grateful to have been given the chance to work with so many incredible people. Thank you, thank you.

A post shared by Liz Meriwether (@lizmeriwether) on May 21, 2020 at 1:23pm PDT

Bless This Mess stars Lake Bell and Dax Shepard shared some messages on the cancellation, offering a humorous perspective on the news.

I got pooped on by 7 different species of animals, got stabbed by Jim O’Hare while dressed like a buck, smushed my face in @daxshepard buttcheeks while he ran around sweating, got catapulted into a freezing pond with non-potable water & I’d do it all again. ❤️ @lizmeriwether pic.twitter.com/QR5urfjt5h

— Lake Bell (@lakebell) May 22, 2020

I’m trying to focus on the positives: they chose a satisfactory pic of me for this announcement :) https://t.co/FkCmaLkvX8

— dax shepard (@daxshepard) May 22, 2020

Their costar JT Neal also reflected on his experience with the show, posting a heartfelt message to fans of Bless This Mess.

 

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Many of you may have already heard, but Bless This Mess will not be returning for a season 3. I’m sad, but I’m so incredibly proud of what we did. To Liz and Lake, thank you for creating such a beautiful, charming, heartfelt show. I feel so honored have been able to work alongside you guys. To my cast, my crew, and everyone between and beyond- thank you for making this the greatest first show experience for me. I’ll see you all down the road! And to the fans- thank you for watching us every week, for tweeting and showing all your support, and for giving us a reason to make this show. I always wanted to be a part of something that brought people together, and I think Bless This Mess did that. Not a bad first gig. I love you all!

A post shared by JT Neal (@jt_neal) on May 21, 2020 at 3:49pm PDT

Meanwhile, Emergence‘s Ashley Aufderheide shared a photo with a caption mentioning how much she misses her TV family.

 

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#Throwback missing my #Emergence cast who became my other family 💙 • • • @emergenceabc @iamrobertbailey #EmergenceABC #TBT #CastParty #Family #ActorsLife #MissYou #ThursdayThoughts @owainyeoman @alexaswinton @allison_tolman @donald_aison @therealclancybrown @zabrynaguevara @mariadizzia

A post shared by Ashley Aufderheide (@ashaufderheide) on May 21, 2020 at 10:11am PDT

Only time will tell if the fan campaigns can save these axed titles, until then, let us know what you think about the cancellations in the comments below.