FX’s The Comedians, which starred Billy Crystal and Josh Gad, has been cancelled by the network after just one low-rated season.
Showrunner Ben Wexler announced the news on Twitter Wednesday. “#TheComedians is cancelled at FX. I could not be more proud of the work we all did,” he wrote.
While the show featured Crystal and Gad and counted Emmy winner Larry Charles among its executive producers, it never caught on with audiences. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the June 25 finale earned just 306,000 viewers for the first broadcast.
The Comedians was based on a Swedish series and featured Crystal and Gad playing obnoxious versions of themselves. At the start, Crystal is forced to work with Gad on a TV show, even though they hate each other. It earned two Emmy nominations, one for Mel Brooks’ guest appearance and another for original music and lyrics.
This is a rare miss for FX, which is home to the acclaimed Louie, Married and the animated hit Archer. The network did just launch Denis Leary’s Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll. Baskets, which stars Zach Galifianakis and co-created by Louis C.K., earned a series order, so FX has another comedy with star power in the pipeline.
After this latest snag in a TV career, Gad might want to stick to movies. He can be seen in Pixels this weekend and is working on Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast.
image courtesy of Ray Mickshaw/FX