Well, fans of wild and zany broadcast time-travel TV shows, the day has come once again to start mourning. After a lengthy decision process, NBC has announced that the beleaguered drama Timeless has once again been cancelled, and that Season 3 will not be happening, despite fan attempts to inspire a renewal. (Assuming, of course, that NBC doesn't reverse this decision by next week.) But there is a small bit of hope that Timeless could get a chance to wrap up its story properly.
The timing on Timeless' cancellation is noteworthy, as the cast members' contract options are due to expire on June 30, with Sony TV reportedly not so interested in renewing those costly options, according to Deadline. However, the studio's execs have had conversations with Timeless' producers about a two-hour TV movie that would follow up on the Season 2 finale cliffhanger and tie up all the remaining loose ends, giving the show a more realized sense of closure. But the economics of the standalone finale are also causing trouble.
New deals would need to be made in order to get all the actors back for the TV movie finale, although that's not thought to be a big problem, since the cast has been very vocal about both their love for the show, and their hopes for it to continue. However, wrap-up projects like this usually have hectic schedules and they end up costing a lot of money without very many clear financial upsides for the networks and studios. But even though no deals have been made just yet, it's reported that NBC seems to be interested enough to keep the talks going. So we're hopeful.
Timeless, which got cancelled just over a year ago before earning a miracle renewal, has been the subject of a massive fan campaign aimed at convincing NBC to order up Season 3. It was one that the show writers were fully behind, with the same going for the cast. Unfortunately, Timeless doesn't appear set for a second rescue attempt, and the TV movie situation (combined with Sony TV not extending anyone's contracts) seemingly negates any chances of the show getting saved by Netflix, which is bringing Lucifer back for Season 4, or Amazon, which renewed The Expanse after its Syfy cancellation. NBC did some of its own show-saving by picking up Brooklyn Nine-Nine for Season 5 after its Fox cancellation.
As it usually goes, Timeless' fate was largely sealed by its lackluster ratings and viewership stats. None of Season 2's ten episodes brought in more than three million viewers for live airings, and its finale earned a paltry 0.6 demo rating with adults 18-49. So even though many of those people were as outspoken and forward-thinking as any other TV fans out there, there apparently just weren't nearly enough of them to convince NBC to keep Timeless going.
While waiting to hear more about Timeless' fate, head to our summer premiere schedule to see what other new and returning shows are heading to the small screen soon.
