Whoa! Fox Cancels All Freshman Comedies

Not even the mega wattage of Rob Lowe and John Stamos were enough to keep their shows, The Grinderand Grandfathered, respectively, on the slate at Fox. The comedies were among the cancellations announced at the network Thursday, which also included Bordertown, created by Seth MacFarlane and the already-nixed Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life meaning that all of Fox's freshman comedy slate has been wiped clean.

The network has had trouble finding a new crop of sitcom hits to match the success of hits such as New Girl,Brooklyn Nine-Nineand The Simpsons this year, but the trouble didn't just start. Fox has wobbled with its comedies for a while now, evident in The Mindy Projectmoving to Hulu last year and, before that, the cancellation of both freshman comedies Enlisted and Surviving Jack.

Can Fox recover from the complete nuking of this year's comedy attempt? It still has the critically acclaimed Last Man on Earth, but its luster can't carry the whole load on its own. Fox needs a new hit, and it needs one soon.