‘Quantico’ Will Finish on Fridays at ABC After Cancellation Announcement

ABC’s Quantico will finish out its third and final season on Friday nights after its cancellation last week.

The terrorism drama was among the many shows at ABC to be on the chopping block last week. According to a report by Deadline, the network doesn’t even want to let the show finish out its tenure in its usual time slot on Thursday nights.

The show will move over to Fridays at 8 p.m. starting on May 25. Typically, studios hate to see a show cancelled after three seasons, as they lose much more on the time and money they invested than if the show had either gone on or stopped a bit earlier.

However, Quantico showed a lot of promise in the beginning. It premiered in the fall of 2015, and it reportedly set records for delayed viewing lift. It continued with that trend, getting most of its views later on through DVRs and streaming services.

Unfortunately, the dense plot of the show caused some viewers to tune out. It became too much to follow, and some felt that the subject matter was sterilized by network TV. By the end of the first season, viewership had dwindled substantially.

In fairness, Quantico has maintained a large international audience, which is a big win for ABC Studios. The show’s star, Priyanka Chopra, has a massive following, but not enough to keep the series on the air.

The fact that Quantico even made a third season is a victory in and of itself. This time last year, it was in danger of cancellation. At the very last minute, it was green lit for a shortened third season, but it was placed under a new showrunner, and some felt that it lost its rhythm. Additionally, the show saw a reduced license fee.

Qauntico is among several big shows canned by ABC in the last two weeks. Others include Deception, The Crossing, Alex, Inc., Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, The Mayor, Ten Days in the Valley and Marvel’s Inhumans.

ABC has also cancelled Designated Survivor and Once Upon a Time, both previously heavy hitters for the network. Both suffered from repeated staffing changes, including several different showrunners. As Quantico proved, this can be devastating to a good story.

It’s not all bad news, however. TV fans have a few big returning series to look forward to across all networks this fall. Among them are The Good Place, Empire and even a reboot of Last Man Standing. In the midseason, shows like A.P. Bio and Brooklyn Nine-Nine will be back on the air as well.