Fox's canceled military comedy Enlisted will not see a second season after all.
Following prolonged negotiations with Yahoo Screen for a second season, the streaming company has opted to pass on bringing back the semi-autobiographical comedy from Kevin Biegel, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
As first reported by TV Line, the comedy from 20th Century Fox Television has ended negotiations with Yahoo Screen. Sources tell THR that Yahoo Screen and Fox 21, which had been shopping the series, could not come to terms on a budget for a second season of the critical darling.
The news comes after Yahoo Screen revived NBC's canceled cult hit but ratings underperformer Community for a sixth season.
One of the best-reviewed freshman shows from last season, Enlisted was buried on Fridays and moved from its November bow to January. The comedy, based on Biegel's (Cougar Town) life, revolved around three very different brothers (Geoff Stults, Chris Lowell and Parker Young) serving in the Rear Detachment unit. On Fox, Enlisted averaged a 0.7 rating among adults 18-49, growing an impressive 71 percent with DVR to a 1.2 and 3 million total viewers. Fox canceled the series in May after one season, with the final four episodes pulled from the schedule and burned off in the summer.
With the fate of the series on the bubble, leads Stults and Young landed starring roles in CBS' comedy pilot Cuz-Bros, which they took in second position to Enlisted. CBS passed on the comedy in May. Stults, meanwhile, has booked recurring roles on Netflix's Grace and Frankieand CBS' The Odd Couple reboot. Co-star Angelique Cabral also booked a comedy at NBC that didn't move forward (Two to Go) and has joined Fox's upcoming Hart Hanson drama Backstrom. Young and co-star Keith David also booked co-starring roles on DirecTV's first original comedy, Things You Shouldn't Say Past Midnight.
Enlisted, a semi-autobiographical comedy from Biegel, has been embraced by members of the armed forces. Foreign Policy magazine dubbed the series the "best show on television [that] no one is watching." The show often concludes with an end card paying tribute to a member of the military, with many reaching out to Biegel to share their own personalstories of PTSD and more.
For his part, Biegel, in a heartfelt letter to friends promoting June's final episodes, wrote that they were the "best four episodes we did," and noted that even the slightest bump could help the series live on. "I love the show and believe in this show too much to give up," he wrote." If we can get even a slightly decent rating we can show a new home that this show has a real fan base."
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
