It’s happy news all around today at ABC, with word that the network has ordered three additional scripts for its freshman series Selfie, Forever and Manhattan Love Story. With the announcement, ABC has officially picked up more episodes of all its new shows – Viola Davis starrer How to Get Away with Murder and family sitcom Black-ish previously received full-season pickups.
Script orders (which typically include three scripts) are usually made by a network that believes in a show’s potential but doesn’t yet think that it has proven itself worthy of a full season. Indeed, the three series all received middling reviews from critics (though I made a case for optimism in my Selfie review), and none have exactly taken off in the ratings.
Both Selfie and Manhattan Love Story, half-hour comedies, have been soft (their most recent episodes pulled in 1.0 and 0.9 live+same day ratings in adults 18-49, respectively), but then again, they were set up for low ratings with a self-starting timeslot and no huge star power. Forever, meanwhile, started strong and has gone quickly downhill in the ratings, slipping down to a 1.1 last night.
However, that ABC is taking time to watch how each of the show’s freshman seasons unfold is certainly promising and suggests that network brass hold out hope of Selfie, Manhattan Love Story and Forever catching on with viewers. Whether their continued commitment to the series will be rewarded with higher ratings remains to be seen.
Tell us, do you watch any of the three series, and if so, are you hopeful that they’ll last past one season? Let us know below!