It’s always tough for fans when a show gets canceled, but it is worse when the fans aren’t totally expecting the cancelation. Such is the case with Covert Affairs, a USA series that wrapped up its fifth season in the middle of December with a cliffhanger episode. A Season 6 renewal was potentially in the cards, but this week USA has decided to officially cancel the series.
The biggest obstacle for Covert Affairs ended up being the ratings during the drama’s latest season. The drama started extremely strong back in 2010 with live viewership, nabbing 4.88 million total viewers during the Season 1 premiere, however, that live viewership continued to dwindle over the subsequent several seasons. THR reports that at its lowest point only 1.1 million tuned in to watch the show.
During its run, Covert Affairs followed a young CIA worker, Annie Walker (Piper Perabo) who eventually graduated to working undercover as an importer and exporter under her handler, Auggie (Christopher Gorham). During the Season 5 finale, Auggie dealt with a stressful situation, almost losing his life on the show. He then declared he would be leaving his job in order to travel around the world with Natasha. It was kind of a bizarre ender, and while we found out Auggie would have been in Season 6 if Season 6 had moved forward, Auggie would have been a part of the show, but it seems like Covert Affairs was working toward a sort-of reboot. Additionally, Annie hadn’t given an answer to a marriage proposal, leaving lots of stuff that needed to be wrapped up.
On the bright side, Covert Affairs lasted 5 seasons on the network—which is more than a lot of dramas get. It had a good run, and its cancelation should pave the way for the new new projects USA has been putting together over the last several months. Three weeks ago, USA signed on for Mr. Robot, a new drama that will star Rami Malek as a computer hacker who hacks to help people. Additionally, Christian Slater will star as the titular Mr. Robot, a character with connections to a hacking underground that has more sinister intentions. New dramas Dig and Complications are also expected to hit the network in the coming year.
Additionally, USA has Stanistan starring Dexter’s Jennifer Carpenter, Colony starring Lost’s Josh Holloway, Queen of the South, and Evil Men. So, it’s not as if the network is short on projects. Even if these new shows only end up pulling in a few million viewers, that’s still better than what Covert Affairs was pulling in during Season 5.
Obviously, Covert Affairs won’t be back, but if you want to know when the rest of your favorites are returning, check out our 2015 midseason TV schedule.
