NBC Cancels ‘Council of Dads’ After Just 1 Season

NBC canceled Council of Dads after just one season. The series was based on Bruce Feiler’s book of the same name and centered on a group of fathers brought together to help their late friend’s widow raise his children. Sarah Wayne Callies, Clive Standen, J. August Richards and Michael O’Neill starred in the short-lived show.

Richards shared the news on his Instagram page Thursday evening. He thanked series creators Joan Rater and Tony Phelan for bringing a series with diverse characters to the small screen. “So that’s a series wrap on [Council of Dads] (aka the show has been canceled),” Richards wrote. “I want to thank [Rater] and [Phelan] for the willingness to give voice and representation to #gayfamilies, #blacklgbt, #qpoc and the worldwide #lgbtq community by telling the story of Oliver, Peter and Tess Post-Richards.” He also thanked fans for supporting the series.

The unconventional drama series did not catch fire with audiences and earned mixed reviews from critics. The show’s first eight episodes averaged just 2.8 million viewers live and a 0.4 18-49 rating, reports TVLine. It ranked 11 out of 14 among the NBC dramas in total viewers and was next-to-last ranked in the key demographic. The show only ran 10 episodes, with the season finale airing on Thursday, July 2.

Council of Dads told the story of Dr. Robin Perry (Callies) and Scott Perry (Tom Everett Scott) who chose a group of Scott’s friends to help Robin after Scott dies from cancer. They recruit Anthony Lavelle (Standen), Dr. Oliver Post (Richards) and Larry Mills (O’Neill) as the “council” of dads. Michele Weaver, Emjay Anthony, Thalia Tran and Blue Chapman played the Perry children.

The series was inspired by Feiler’s book The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me. In 2011, Fox developed a sitcom based on it, although the project was never picked up. NBC began developing Rater and Phelan’s version in 2018.

Although the show was short-lived, its die-hard fans flooded the show’s official Instagram page to show their support. “Literally sobbing because there won’t be another season. There’s finally another good show on NBC and of course it’s not renewed,” one person wrote. Others commented with the hashtag “Save Council of Dads.”