Lt. Backstrom and FBI agent Ryan Hardy have worked their last crime scenes. Fox cancelled both The Following and Backstrom last night.
The Following starred Kevin Bacon as Ryan Hardy, who investigates a serial killer and his following. The show got off to a strong start in January 2013, but as TV Line notes, ratings steadily declined during the show’s second and third seasons. The most recent episode had just 3 million viewers.
The show comes to an end with a two-hour finale on May 18.
Rainn Wilson announced on Facebook that Backstrom was cancelled. There was a glimmer of hope that the show would get picked up because it was created by Hart Hanson, who is also behind Bones. But that wasn’t enough to keep it alive.
“I will greatly miss playing Detective Everett Backstrom. He was a true original, so sad and angry, acerbic and self-destructive. But underneath? A good heart. Wounded and scarred. But good,” Wilson wrote to the show’s fans. “Playing him was a real emotional and comedic challenge and tested my abilities to their maximum. Hart Hanson created a fascinating Chekhovian-noir freak – equal parts funny and tragic – and it was an honor to bring him to life.”
Wilson (The Office) starred as the title character, an unconventional detective leading a squad in Portland, Oregon. The show’s only season featured just 13 episodes.
Fox has already renewed Bones, New Girl, Last Man on Earth, The Simpsons, Gotham, Empire and Bob’s Burgers. The Mindy Project was also cancelled.
image of Kevin Bacon courtesy of INFphoto.com