TBS Cancels New Reality Show Just Weeks Ahead of Series Premiere

The Big D, a new dating series hosted by The Bachelorette alums JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers, was canceled last week, just days before it was set to premiere. The series is another casualty in the Warner Media and Discovery merger, as the newly created Warner Bros. Discovery seeks to cut costs. The Big D took a unique twist on the "singles searching for love in a tropical paradise" format, as their exes went along for the trip.

The Big D was announced in March 2021 and has already been filmed. The show features 10 divorced couples living in a Costa Rica villa together to re-learn how to date while looking for love among the other exes. At the end of each episode, one person who is not relationship material was cut. Fletcher and Rodgers were in Costa Rica for the production to offer the divorcees dating tips. It was created by the same team behind Are You The One? and Dating Naked and produced by Lighthearted Entertainment.

"We're assessing our schedule to ensure we have the right content mix to support our network strategies," a spokesperson for the Turner cable networks told Deadline. "We are grateful to JoJo Fletcher, Jordan Rodgers, and the executive producers of Big D for their partnership through the process."

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and his team have recently made several high-profile cost-cutting measures. In April, the company dropped Kill the Orange-Faced Bear, a new TBS comedy starring Damon Wayans Jr., just a week before production was set to start. J.J. Abrams' HBO sci-fi series Demimonde was cut over budgetary concerns. Demimonde's first season would have reportedly cost over $200 million to produce.

The difference between those projects and The Big D is that the dating series was already filmed. It only cost about $10 million to make and TBS started airing ads. It was slated to debut on July 7. Sources told Deadline canceling the show was a "tax write-off."

Fletcher and Rodgers haven't commented on The Big D's cancelation, and they even still have the show listed in their Instagram bios. Fletcher starred in The Bachelorette Season 12, which ended with her accepting Rodgers' proposal. Their wedding was delayed during the coronavirus pandemic, but they finally tied the knot in May after a six-year engagement.