There were a lot of shows that got axed by the major networks during the month of May, and there were several more that found themselves on thin ice before ultimately getting greenlighted for renewal. One of those shows was ABC's The Real O'Neal's, a half-hour comedy that premiered to okay but unremarkable ratings. Now, The Real O'Neal's might be getting derailed by one of its own cast members. In fact, new reports indicate that the episode order on the comedy might be cut down thanks to some comments made by series lead Noah Galvin.
Reports this week indicate that indicate that ABC has been trying to figure out how to proceed in the wake of an interview between Noah Galvin and Vulture that saw him take shots at Eric Stonestreet, Bryan Singer and more. THR is reporting that ABC is contemplating a shorter episode order, also noting that an executive producer on the series has begged the network not to take any action against the series because of something one of the actors on the show said.
So far, ABC has declined to comment about the whole situation. In addition, the network has yet to take any official action against The Real O'Neals. The comedy was one of the last laughers renewed by ABC in May, getting picked up for Season 2 after the likes of Black-ish, Fresh Off the Boat, The Goldbergs, Modern Family and The Middle were all renewed. At the time of its renewal, ABC wasn't clear how many episodes the show would get in Season 2, but a regular order for a network comedy is 22 episodes.
Noah Galvin's comments earlier this week included shots at Bryan Singer, which the outlet ultimately decidedly to pull after lawyers intervened. In addition, he took the opportunity to take shots at ABC for waiting so long to renew his sitcom, calling the network itself "abusive." He also took shots at fellow gay actor Colton Haynes for choosing to come out in the magazine EW, calling his coming out "fucking pussy bullshit." Outlets are noting that although Noah Galvin apologized, this is not the first time he has brazenly spoken his mind about a variety of subjects and is unlikely to be the last.
It's not common that a show might see its credibility plummet due to the actions of one actor, but The Real O'Neals was never the network's first choice in terms of renewals. As noted prior, a lot of other shows were greenlighted for the 2016-2017 TV season. While the show received modest critical success and also features a great cast, including Martha Plimpton and Jay R. Ferguson, there are clearly some strikes against it. There are other ways ABC could get around cutting down on the episode order---recastings have happened on shows before---but if The Real O'Neals loses a few episodes, there is doubtless more than one reason for that.
While we wait to find out, here's what the networks still have coming up this summer. You can also what has been cancelled and what will be returning with our network rundown.
