Have Fox shows had last laugh?
Q: I loved the show “Welcome to Flatch.” Will it be returning? Also, what about “Call Me Kat”? A:
The Fox comedy “Welcome to Flatch” was canceled last year after two seasons. While Fox in a statement reportedly praised the creative team behind the show, it added that “audience response was not as strong as we had hoped.” In other words, bad numbers. As for “Call Me Kat,” the Mayim Bialik comedy was canceled last year after three seasons. A Fox statement said the network was proud of the show but then hit the keystroke for “the audience response was not as strong as we had hoped.”
Q: Is it just me or has anyone else wondered why Mark Harmon as Gibbs couldn’t make an appearance (like Michael Weatherly did) for Ducky’s tribute on “NCIS”? A:
Brian Dietzen, who plays Jimmy Palmer on “NCIS” and co-wrote the episode, told TheWrap that Harmon had been in talks with the show about returning but was not available due to a scheduling conflict. I also wonder if the return of Harmon — though much wanted by fans — would have been a distraction from the farewell to Ducky and to David McCallum, who had played Ducky until his death last year. (To me, even Weatherly’s return seemed a bit off tone.) Still, there were a lot of nice flourishes in the episode. I especially liked the wreath from Abby.
Q: Will the TV show “The Resident” return this season? We miss it. A:
The Fox medical drama has ended, with the final of its six seasons airing last year. It wasn’t an official finale but wrapped
up enough storylines to serve as one. Ratings had declined, so — to echo the Fox statements above — the audience response was not as strong as the network had hoped.
Q: Where can I find the early episodes of “Petticoat Junction”? A:
“Petticoat Junction” was a comedy about the small town of Hooterville and its citizens, especially those involved with the Shady Rest Hotel. It originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1970, through many cast changes, and overlapped at times with “The Beverly Hillbillies” (1962-71) and even more with “Green Acres” (1965-71). Broadcaster Retro TV carries the series. Streaming services including Freevee and Tubi have 20 early black-and-white episodes. Amazon Prime Video has the complete series available with a membership.
Q: Will “East New York” be returning soon? A:
No. As I mentioned a few months ago, CBS canceled the series after a single season, to the
dismay of fans.
Q: I just finished watching four seasons of “Profiler,” and there are a couple storylines that I thought needed to be resolved. Is there a fifth season? A:
No. The series premiered on NBC in 1996 and starred Ally Walker as a psychologist who had visions of what had happened when she visited crime scenes. Walker left the series after three seasons; she later said, “I was unhappy, I wanted to leave. I was a new mother, my baby was 2 at the time, and I never got to see him, the writing I felt was getting worse, the show was taking on a direction I didn’t like.” She was succeeded on the show by a new profiler played by Jamie Luner, who starred in the final season. The last new episode aired in 2000.