Television is a competitive business, and few shows are ever entirely safe. Sure, there are some that somehow have the staying power to last for season after season after season, but others don't stick around for more than a single one. Unfortunately for fans of Will, TNT has given the series the axe. Will has officially come to an end after just one season.
All things considered, it's not difficult to understand why TNT decided to cancel Will. While the show was definitely one-of-a-kind and had its merits as a summer series, there just weren't enough people tuning in on a weekly basis. THR reports that Will averaged a meager 697,000 total viewers and an unfortunate 0.2 in the key 18-49 age demographic. Even cable networks tend to require higher demo ratings than 0.2 on average to give a renewal order, and Will simply wasn't able to win enough of an audience.
Still, the cancellation must come as pretty terrible news to those fans who did make a habit of tuning in week after week. The Season 1 finale aired on September 4, and the announcement of the cancellation came the next day on September 5. Fans didn't get very long to enjoy the excitement of the finale. There were still plenty of places the show could have taken Will and Co. At least the quick cancellation means that fans didn't have the time to get their hopes up too high about what could happen in Season 2.
Summer tends to bring lower ratings for all shows, but we can't entirely blame the summer months for the disappointing audience turnout for Will. TNT debuted another new series this summer with Claws, which performed well enough that it scored an early renewal. For whatever reason, Will never found a foothold in the TNT lineup, and we can only wonder what would have happened next.
It's possible that Will was just too atypical for viewers to want to give it a try. Promos gave the impression that Will would feel more like Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet than classic Shakespeare, and viewers would need to suspend a lot of disbelief to go along for the ride. If suspension of disbelief isn't something viewers wanted to sign on for in a summer series, they may not have felt inclined to take a look. Whatever the reason, Will has come to its end after only ten episodes. Alas, poor Will. We didn't know you well.
For a rundown of the 2016-2017 renewals and cancellations, be sure to take a look at our rundowns for cable/streaming and network TV. Our fall TV premiere guide can point you toward viewing options now that Will has come to an end, and our 2017 Netflix schedule can help you out if streaming is more your style. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for TV and movie news.
