Katey Sagal’s ‘Rebel’ Canceled, and Fans Lash out at ABC

Rebel fans are rebelling against ABC after the Disney-owned network canceled the drama series after just one season. The show starred former Sons of Anarchy star Katey Sagal as legal advocate Annie “Rebel” Bello, who was inspired by Erin Brokovich. Only five episodes of Rebel aired before ABC pulled the plug on the show Friday. Rebel was created by Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 showrunner Krista Vernoff.

The series started on April 8, and also starred John Corbett, Lex Scott Davis, Tamala Renee Jones, James Lesure, Kevin Zegers, Sam Palladio, Ariela Barer, and Andy Garcia. While Sagal filmed Rebel, she remained on ABC’s hit sitcom The Conners as the girlfriend of Dan Conner (John Goodman). Although ABC canceled Rebel, The Conners did receive a fourth season, so Sagal will still be seen on television in the fall.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Sagal confirmed she could shoot both shows at once. “I’ve actually been doing The Conners while I’ve been doing Rebel and it’s in my contract because I’m hoping to continue doing The Conners. I love that over there,” Sagal explained last month. “You know, I can’t do the whole season, but I can do what I did last season, which was I think 10 episodes.”

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The Conners showrunner Bruce Helford also told TVLine that Sagal made it very clear he did not have to cast a new girlfriend for Dan. “The first thing that Katey did [after Rebel was picked up] was send us an email saying, ‘Do not hire a new girlfriend for Dan — I am not abdicating my role,’” Helford said in October 2020. “Rebel starts production in early November [so] it’s going to be tough for her because she’s going to be doing double production. So there will be some conflict. But we’ll work on Saturdays [if we need to]. We intend for Louise to be around all season.”

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Rebel was just one of several shows to meet the ax on Friday. ABC also canceled American Housewife after five seasons, Mixed-ish after two, and Call Your Mother after one. Mixed-ish was a spinoff of Black-ish, which was renewed for an eighth and final season. The drama For Life, which was executive produced by 50 Cent, was also canceled after two seasons.

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Many fans of Rebel hope the show can be saved somewhere else. Rebel was produced by ABC Signature with Sony Pictures Television. Sony and ABC Signature also produced For Life, which is reportedly being shopped elsewhere. For Life did better on Hulu, hinting that it may be a better fit on a streaming service.

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“OMG!!!! Why would they cancel [American Housewife] and Rebel!?!?!? Unreal! Especially canceling Rebel – That show is so good! I’m bummed,” one fan wrote. “They didn’t give Rebel a chance,” another fan complained.

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“Wtf Rebel, I really like that show that’s what always happens,” one angry fan wrote. “I’m really bummed that Rebel was canceled!!! I was really getting into it,” another chimed in.

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Rebel and For Life are now available to stream on Hulu.

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