NBC Cancels 'SNL' Alum's Sitcom After 2 Seasons
American Auto is officially closing up shop. Deadline exclusively reports that the NBC sitcom, starring SNL alum Ana Gasteyer, will not be returning for a third season. Coincidentally, the news comes only a week after the network picked up workplace comedy pilot St. Denis Medical, which comes from American Auto creator and executive producer Justin Spitzer, who also created fellow NBC workplace comedy, Superstore.
Like many networks, NBC has been reworking its lineup, mostly its comedy lineup. Freshman comedies Night Court and Lopez vs Lopez were both renewed for second seasons, but everything else that was a sitcom got the boot, unfortunately. American Auto's cancellation comes after Young Rock and Grand Crew's axes, both of which were last week. It was only just a matter of time before the workplace comedy suffered the same fate, sadly, but at least fans know the news now.
Starring Ana Gasteyer, Harriet Dyer, Jon Barinholtz, Humphrey Ker, Michael B. Washington, Tye White, and X Mayo, American Auto follows the employees of the Detroit-based Payne Motors. Ratings only averaged about 2 million total viewers and a 0.28 rating, which is reportedly down from Season 1, which had 2.17 million viewers and a 0.37 rating. The series comes from Justin Spitzer and Aaron Kaplan's Kapital Entertainment. Universal Television produces the series in association with Spitzer Holding Company and Kapital Entertainment.
It's definitely a disappointment that this series won't be coming back and didn't get the type of success that fellow NBC workplace comedies Superstore, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Office, and Parks and Rec got. Hopefully, this won't be the end of the series, as it's always possible it could find a new home elsewhere, whether that's on Peacock, where it's currently streaming, or on a different network. For now, though, American Auto's final was in April, and it seems like it's going to be staying that way.
While American Auto may be over, it sounds like Justin Spitzer is sticking around on NBC for even more workplace comedies. St. Denis Medical, which will star The Goldbergs' Wendi McLendon-Covey, is a mockumentary about an Oregon hospital that is both underfunded and understaffed. The doctors and nurses try to treat patients while also trying to work on themselves as per Deadline. An official premiere date has not been revealed but is expected to premiere sometime during the 2023-24 television season.