Council of Dads showrunner J. August Richards has tweeted out a farewell note over the cancellation of his NBC series, Council of Dads. Following his announcement that the show was canceled on Instagram Thursday, Richards also thanked the show’s fans, along with the network, for giving him an opportunity to tell his story.
The show followed Dr. Robin Perry (Sarah Wayne Callies), who along with her husband Scott Perry (Tom Everett Scott), chose a group of Scott’s friends to help Robin after he dies from cancer. They recruit Anthony Lavelle (Standen), Dr. Oliver Post (Richards) and Larry Mills (O’Neill), dubbed the “council” of dads. The Perry children were played by Michele Weaver, Emjay Anthony, Thalia Tran and Blue Chapman played the Perry children. In his Instagram post, Richards thanked series creators Joan Rater and Tony Phelan for bringing a series with diverse characters to the small screen. Like the tweet, he spoke reverently about being given a chance to tell “the story of Oliver, Peter and Tess Post-Richards.”
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So that’s a series wrap on #CouncilOfDads (aka the show has been cancelled)… I want to thank @JoanRater and @TonyTphelan for the willingness to give voice and representation to #gayfamilies, #blacklgbt, #qpoc and the worldwide #lgbtq community by telling the story of… pic.twitter.com/GN5f1CvjWs
— J. August Richards (@jaugustrichards) June 25, 2020
In some follow-up tweets, Richards made sure to thank the fans once again. “I took a big risk and you let me know you have my back,” Richards continued. “And, in truth, what more could a person ask for??? Love y’all! Seriously.” He continued to leave things on an upbeat note, teasing what’s to come with the remaining episodes. “[The] last two episodes are tonight and next Thursday! Tonight is my favorite episode of the season!!!”
The series was inspired by Feiler’s book The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me. It was developed initially for TV back in 2011 with Fox, although the project was never picked up. NBC began developing Rater and Phelan’s version back in 2018.
The show’s first eight episodes only averaged around 2.8 million viewers and ranked 11 out of 14 among the NBC dramas in total viewers and was also next-to-last ranked in the key demographic. The show only ran 10 episodes, with the season finale slated to air on Thursday, July 2. While it never caught fire with audiences and earned mixed reviews from critics, the die-hard fans have been crushed by the news.
