TV News | Working the Engels cancelled by NBC and Shaw Media

As first mentioned by The Hollywood Reporter’s Etan Vlessing, Shaw Media confirmed the cancellation of Global/NBC sitcom Working the Engels on August 20, 2014. As mentioned in an earlier Gloryosky article, American ratings were soft for the Andrea Martin/Kacey Rohl sitcom since its July 10, 2014 NBC debut. The show was co-developed by Shaw Media and NBCUniversal, and produced by Halfire Entertainment.

Working the Engels’ Nielsen viewership on NBC first dipped below two million on July 31, 2014; the viewing figures are consistent with Working the Engels’ Canadian performance on Global, as the show suffered through similarly weak ratings above the 49th parallel. NBC cancels Working the Engels after five episodes; the show was preempted August 14, 2014 by the eighth-season finale of Last Comic Standing.

As Working the Engels’ future hinged on its NBC performance after the weak Global run, this is about as cut-and-dried a cancellation as one gets in Canadian television. Regardless of Working the Engels’ perceived quality, relatively few viewers watched the show in the two countries where its performance most mattered. This doesn’t end Shaw Media and NBCUniversal’s co-development partnership – Variety’s Shelli Weinstein mentions Halfire Entertainment police procedural Rope, with Rookie Blue and Flashpoint executive producer Tassie Cameron attached to the project.

As a result of Working the Engels’ NBC cancellation, Welcome to Sweden airs two episodes on NBC August 21, 2014, assuming Working the Engels’ Thursday timeslot for the time being.

C. Archer
Le Social