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Exclusive: ABC Chops Down Men in Trees
Men in Trees by Sergei Bachlakov/ABC
If this is a harbinger of the week ahead, I may be taking off on a last-minute vacation tonight.
ABC has gone and canceled one of TV's most consistently heartwarming hours, Men in Trees.
The sad, depressing news was just confirmed to me by series creator Jenny Bicks, who says she was informed of the network's decision late last week. "I am really proud of the work we did on MIT," she tells me. "A huge thank you to our supportive fans."
Bicks believes that two years of schizophrenic scheduling ultimately did the cherished dramedy in. "I wish the show had not been moved six times and put onto two long hiatuses," she sighs. "No show could survive that."
Truer words have never been spoken.
As soul-crushing as this is, I managed to find a silver lining in all this: Viewers will get their happy ending.
Bicks and her team prepared for Trees' possible demise by shooting an alternate series-finale ending that will now be tacked onto the show's last episode, which is slated to air this summer. Trees kicks off its final run of episodes on Wednesday, May 28.
In the meantime, use the comments section below to mourn the passing of another great TV show. Also, feel free to share your fondest Trees memories. Mine? Marin falling through the ice and being forced to spend the night with Jack in the pilot. Now your turn.
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May 4, 2008 7:06 PM
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"I wish the show had not been moved six times and put onto two long hiatuses," she sighs. "No show could survive that."
No truer words indeed. ABC could have had a nice heartwarming hit Thursdays at 10, if they had left Trees in the apres-Grey's slot. But no, October Road (its last ratings: 4.7 mil) had to get a boost, and then Notes from the Underbelly (now canceled)....
Lesson learned, anyone?
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May 4, 2008 7:24 PM
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My daughter and I still laugh over the "booby trap", when Marin tripped over her bra at Jack's house.
The ratings for MIT were never super, but I've had people tell me recently that "what? Men in Trees was canceled last year!"!!!!!
Loyal viewers could barely find the show. Casual viewers had no reason to think they still needed to care.
Bonehead move, ABC.
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May 4, 2008 7:25 PM
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And if they had just left it on Friday in the original slot, it would probably be doing just fine. Kudos, ABC! You'd think networks would learn from their mistakes, but I guess that's expecting a bit too much. Or a lot. I'll miss Men in Trees terribly, though I started to distance myself once it became clear that the network wasn't going to support it any better the second season than they did the first. Great characters, great chemistry all around; it was a total comfort show for me, and there are far too few of those on tv right now.
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May 4, 2008 7:33 PM
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I saw it coming, but that doesn't help the depression. At least we will get an ending.
Can you please atleast release the DVDs so we can rewatch the show?
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May 4, 2008 7:41 PM
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This is so sad, but not shocking. Networks would rather churn out rediculous reality shows than stick with a show with heart and humor. I will miss Elmo and all it's great residents. Too bad it never had a chance with ABC's lack of commitment.
Is there a chance it could get a second chance on a cable network?
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May 4, 2008 8:05 PM
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I never even watched this show and I'm appalled at how ABC treated it. I generally don't buy into the theory that networks actually try to "kill" shows, but in this case it's pretty hard to argue that ABC did anything but that...
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May 4, 2008 8:06 PM
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Please tell me this isn't so....I love
Men In Trees....is there a chance they
will change their minds??
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May 4, 2008 8:11 PM
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Sad, but not surprising.
The reality is the show never had the ratings ABC wanted, so I'm frankly surprised they gave it two years when it was fairly clear it wasn't building an audience. At least we got two seasons. I'll miss it, but it doesn't even make the top 20 of my list of my "Cancelled Too Soon" list.
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May 4, 2008 8:12 PM
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I am so disappointed that Men in
Trees has been canceled!! I am devastated!! This is the first show in a long, long time that I never missed!! I loved the writing, the scenery, the premise and every character on this show!! I will stop watching ABC completely because of this...Men in Trees was the only show I watched on the network anyway! Thanks for nothing ABC!!
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May 4, 2008 8:19 PM
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I hate ABC! I will never watch another show on that nework again! Men in Trees was the best thing to come on tv in many many years and ABC intentionally killed it! They would rather air crap instead of quality! Goodbye forever ABC once MIT is gone!
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May 4, 2008 8:21 PM
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*sigh* I had feared this would happen but it doesn't make it any easier. I truly believe that ABC wanted to kill MiT since they didn't own it. Shame on them.
I'll miss the characters. They were quirky and fun.
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May 4, 2008 8:21 PM
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For those of us who don't watch much TV and enjoy nice adult, relaxing dramas and comedies instead of so-called "reality" fare, the networks continue to disappoint and push us towards more adult-oriented cable TV and DVDs. It was hard to keep up with the schedule of Men In Trees, but it was always worth the chase to find it. I will sadly miss it and continue to watch less and less of the drivel that network TV offers.
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May 4, 2008 8:21 PM
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Let me guess...ABC is pulling the plug on this terrific show, with all the favorite couples and characters and I'll bet they're making room for yet another mindless, idiotic REALITY SHOW...
I don't want reality - I live in reality - I want to escape reality and live in a little town like Elmo, Alaska and visit my friends at the Chieftan and laugh at Marin's escapades. I don't want my imaginary friends to be 'cancelled'.
I want to escape reality for an hour and let creative writers take me away from my life and cast me into a life I can only experience via my imagination and my TV - if only for an hour at a time!
Marin and company will be missed...what a great show with many complex characters which I'm sure we have only had time to scratch the surface of their personalities. They will all be missed...
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May 4, 2008 8:23 PM
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ABC sucks for this!! Men In Trees had a great cast , great scripts, and comedy and drama all rolled into one. There have been so many great moments from this show. To tell you the truth, this show is more consistent than Grey's when it comes to excellent scripts. All I can say is I wish Lifetime would pick it up. I think it would fit in with their lone hit Army Wives.
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Edited by yolanda6 at 05/04/2008 5:27 PM
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May 4, 2008 8:27 PM
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