The TV business is a tough one. Yet, with every fall and spring comes the hope that the new shows which have debuted will make it past their inaugural episodes and go on to cement their fanbases in subsequent, even more successful, seasons. With every May, though, fans and television insiders alike find a plethora of series (both new and returned) getting the axe. Katey Sagal, who's also been seen on The Conners most recently, is now weathering the cancellation of her new ABC series, Rebel, and she's reacted to the network's "reversal of support."
Katey Sagal took some time away from this season of The Conners to step into the leading role on Rebel, which followed a fearless blue-collar legal advocate who fights for what she thinks is right, despite not having a law degree. The character was inspired by the life of Erin Brockovich, who was one of the executive producers, along with Grey's Anatomy's Krista Vernoff, who was also the showrunner. Obviously, it's never fun to hear that your show has been cut loose after only a little over a month on the air, and Sagal took to Instagram to open up to fans about her reaction.
After thanking "the dear rebellious @rebelabc followers" and noting that she felt the cast, crew, and Vernoff were beginning "to gel and find our footing," Katey Sagal noted:
The abrupt announcement that there would be no Season 2 based on the response from four airings came as a shock and a heartbreak. Things take time to catch on. Rebel tells the story of a woman who speaks up for what is right, the show has heart and purpose, funny and tears, and we, the cast, are all scratching our heads at the reversal of support from ABC. As Rebel would say, fight for what you want, make people listen, and in this case, if our show can find another, more suitable place to land, we will do the happy dance.
Well, it does seem pretty clear that Katey Sagal, as well as her co-workers on Rebel, are much more than displeased about the cancellation of their show. They were feeling the camraderie, starting to truly vibe with one another and get into the groove that every cast and crew needs to get into when making a new show so that the whole production can really give fans the full experience. But, ABC wasn't feeling the love they were, and pressed stop on the whole thing.
If you think this is definitely the end of the road for Katey Sagal and Rebel, though, think again. As she mentioned at the end of her post, the producers are clearly attempting to shop the show around to see if they can find another home for it. While this is a bit of a long shot, the chances of Rebel getting a second life elsewhere are way better now than they would have been even five or so years ago.
Not only have shows like One Day at A Time been revived (albeit, briefly) in recent years, but there are, as we know, nearly endless channels, and new streamers with money to spend and a need for intriguing content to lure subscribers. So, Rebel could soon find itself among the lucky few.
Sagal's note to fans didn't end there, either. Along with revealing that they're actively already trying to see if Rebel will be picked up somewhere else, she also invited folks pissed about the cancellation to sign a petition (which I believe was started by a fan), to help save the show. The petition is hoping to grab 25,000 signatures, and at the time of this writing nearly 20,000 viewers had signed, so it's clear that Rebel managed to stir strong feelings in many of the people who did tune in during its short time on the air.
Time will tell whether or not Rebel will be able to find a new home, but the fight that Katey Sagal and her Rebel family are putting up is exactly the kind of thing the character would be totally on board with.
Right now, it's expected that ABC will continue to air the remaining five episodes of Rebel on Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST, but if you need more to watch, check out our guide to 2021 summer TV premieres.
