Some of you might have felt it coming, while many probably refused to believe it could happen, but here it is: NBC has decided today, an otherwise nondescript entry in 2016, is the day on which it would pull the plug on the creature-filled drama Grimm. There will be no Season 7 for Nick and his Portland crew, and you know what else? Apparently we're not even going to get to watch the final season until next year. We're trying to be optimistic here, NBC, but come on!
The way this news came out is pretty infuriating as well. Grimm's fate did indeed come from NBC, but rather than a dedicated announcement or something from the rumor grapevine, it was revealed in a press release that compiled the network's other January premieres. So while it was nice to read about Jon Lovitz joining Celebrity Apprentice this year for Arnold Schwarzenegger's first season, it was not so great to see Grimm's cancellation coupled with a start date months after the late-October debut that was originally planned for.
The Wesen over at NBC haven't exactly stunned the world with the announcement that Grimm's last days were near. It was somewhat surprising when Season 6 got ordered in the first place, and that decision got half-reversed some months later when the episode count for the sixth season was cut from 22 to 13, which is never a great sign for a series' future. But now that wound is getting the lemon juice of the delay poured all over it.
Few shows have a fanbase as pure as Grimm's, so I'm sure some can see the silver lining that NBC didn't just cut all losses and sever ties with the show altogether. 13 more episodes in January is nowhere near as good as 22 episodes in September, but so long as Season 5's finale and the myriad other storylines all get played out successfully - and the Season 6 premiere is set to kick off in the very moments audiences last saw Nick and his gang on the run - we can have closure.
While Grimm hasn't been a ratings smash for NBC, the fact that the show has maintained its core audience across several years in the oft-dreaded Friday night time slot. It's always been ripe for cancellation from a statistical angle, but the fans could not be denied! Until now, I guess. I wonder how audiences will respond to this news, and whether it'll have a major effect on Season 6's ratings or not.
So while Grimm won't get into its now-final season antics on NBC until January 6, 2017, there is still a lot of TV coming in the months between now and then that you can check out in our fall premiere schedule.
It's unfortunate that Grimm was cancelled. However, if you are looking to add the series to your dvd or blu-ray collection, you can check that out here.
