ABC Family had mostly good news for their original series today. The cable network made the announcement that we'll be seeing more Melissa & Joey, Baby Daddy, Switched at Birth and Bunheads. Unfortunately, fans of Jane by Design will be disappointed to learn that the fashion-focused dramedy has been cancelled.
First, the good news: ABC Family announced the fate of a number of original series. The network has ordered a third season for their half-hour multi-camera comedy Melissa & Joey, which stars Melissa Joan Hart as a councilwoman who's tasked with raising her niece and nephew. Joey Lawrence plays Joe, the household manny in the series. The combination of two beloved 90s TV stars is likely what grabbed viewers' attention at first, but with the news of a third season order, it's evident that the show has staying power.
Drama series Switched at Birth, which follows two families whose lives collide when its discovered that their teen daughters were switched at birth, will return for a second season. The series premiered last summer and returned for its second half the following winter. Also returning for a second season is Baby Daddy, a comedy that stars Jean-Luc Bilodeau as Ben, a twenty-something whose life as a bachelor is interrupted when an ex-girlfriend leaves her baby daughter on his porch. And the last bit of good news is for Amy Sherman Palladino's ballet drama series Bunheads, which is currently airing its first season. ABC Family has ordered additional episodes for the series' first season.
Unfortunately, it looks like it's the end of the road for Jane By Design. E! Online shared the news that the dramedy has been cancelled after one season. It followed a high school girl named Jane who is mistaken for a job applicant at a fashion designer's office and, after landing the job, attempts to juggle high school and her new career, which includes pretending she's not a teenager at work, and pretending she's not secretly working at an office in the city when she's at school or home. The series premiered back in January, airing half its season in the winter and then returning in the spring for its remaining episodes. I thought the quirkiness of the premise, added to Erica Dasher's portrayal of the awkward but fashion-savvy Jane Quimby made for a cute, light series. Unfortunately, the ratings were never especially strong, which is a shame.
