This is never a good sign for any freshman show. Fox said over the weekend that the first season of Mulaney will be three episodes less than originally planned.
The show, which is produced by Lorne Michaels and stars standup comic John Mulaney, airs on Sundays during Fox’s new mixed-media comedy block. Considering the show is up against Sunday Night Football and The Walking Dead, it didn’t really have a chance to stand out.
According to Variety, the network initially had 16 episodes planned, but now that order has been cut by three. The show had just wrapped production on its 13th episode and was about to start filming the 14th show.
The show earned mixed reviews heading into the season and has had poor ratings since its debut. Entertainment Weekly notes that its season premiere only drew 2.3 million viewers and a 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic. Half of the audience for Family Guy leaves when Mulaney starts.
Fox will continue airing the rest of Mulaney in the Sunday, 9:30 p.m. slot.
At least if the show does get cancelled officially, perhaps Nasim Pedrad could go back to Saturday Night Live.