Muppets High on Networks’ Hit Lists

It’s time to stop the music — cancellations are flying thicker than the Swedish Chef’s accent in the US today, with the networks axing a slew of shows, including The Muppets, Castle and Containment.

Variety reports The Muppets’ cancellation came after a mid-season show runner change failed to turn around disappointing ratings.

“The show underperformed following a massive marketing campaign around its launch.”

The Muppets won’t be a loss for TV2, as it rated poorly from the outset and has yet to resurface after its mid-season break.

TV One’s Castle has been dropped after eight seasons, in a decision that reportedly “came down to the wire“, while another of the network’s imports, The Family, is gone after only one — as are TV2’s Grandfathered and Containment, even though in the US the latter fared “as well as, if not better than, previous timeslot occupant iZombie in several categories”.

TV2’s Dr Ken has been renewed but the network’s Agent Carter and Prime’s CSI: Cyber have been declassified after two seasons and fans of TV One’s Nashville, which soon returns to late-night, have had their achy-breaky hearts broken after four seasons.

For more details of what’s in and what’s out, see The Hollywood Reporter’s broadcast TV scorecard.