The entire television industry was taken by storm Tuesday afternoon after ABC cancelled its hit revival sitcom, Roseanne, following a series of racist tweets from star and producer Roseanne Barr. The removal of a cornerstone program this late in the game is unprecedented, and ABC now faces the difficult task of trying to replace the money made by Roseanne on Tuesday nights.
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Well, the folks over at Forbes have an interesting, and completely logical theory: Greenlight Marvel’s New Warriors.
If you recall, New Warriors, which featured cult-favorite character Squirrel Girl as the series lead, was Marvel’s first half-hour live-action TV show, and it was ordered to series at Disney-owned network, Freeform. A pilot was shot and multiple episodes were written, but the network ultimately reversed its decision, and New Warriors was going to be shopped to elsewhere.
Disney executives reportedly loved what was happening with New Warriors, and have wanted to see it gain life on another network or streaming service, but no public progress has been made.
Now, with Roseanne cancelled, there could be an opportunity for New Warriors to thrive.
ABC has a vacant hole in the schedule, and not much time to fill it. New Warriors already has several episodes written and a cast in place, so there wouldn’t be a ton of work on the front end. The network could just move forward with production on the 10 episode first season, have it finished by the fall, and air another new comedy in its place after the winter break comes and goes.
There’s also the money issue to consider, and New Warriors helps ABC on that front as well. After dominating the ratings in the spring, Roseanne was set to make the network loads of money in ad revenue. While New Warriors wouldn’t haul in the same ratings, it does have the advantage of being a Marvel property, with a popular character, airing after Marvel Studios has released Avengers: Infinity War, the biggest movie in studio history. What better time to get people on board with a Marvel TV series?
While Agents of SHIELD has struggled in the ratings over the last couple of years, let’s remember that it debuted to more than 12 million viewers during its series premiere on ABC a few years ago. Not only were the SHIELD ratings strong in its premiere, but the episode aired on Tuesday night in the same time slot Roseanne is currently leaving empty.
New Warriors would be an easy solution to ABC’s Roseanne issue, and the network has the entire summer, including San Diego Comic Con, to help promote its newest hit. At this point, what have they got to lose?
Do you think New Warriors could be a fit for ABC? Is this series a viable solution to the Roseanne problem? Let us know your thoughts on the issue by dropping a line in the comments below!
