It still hasn’t wholly sunk in that ABC has cancelled Forever, the supernatural procedural series following an immortal man who has chosen to use his medical and historical insights to help the NYPD to solve cases. As it turns out, lead Ioan Gruffudd is nearly as upset about the cancellation as fans are. He recently gave us rare insight into the mind of a celebrity directly after his show was cancelled. Here’s what he had to say:
I sat down and started reading the thousands of Tweets in response to the announcement. And the more I read, the more I couldn’t believe it. The love, the sense of solidarity, the hope, the kindness, the support. Not just for the show, but for each other. And slowly I began to focus on what we had gained in the past year, rather than what we had lost in the last five minutes. I was overcome by a sense of gratitude. To have met you all and to have you all rooting for me and the show. At having a chance to play the role of my dreams, even if it was only for a year. To have been given the chance to bring Henry to life.
I don’t know about you, but Gruffudd’s humble response regarding his experience on Forever is really refreshing. We don’t get to see actors come out and speak so lovingly about TV shows very often, and Gruffudd’s thoughtful response comes from a heartfelt place. Plus, it comes at a time when many, many avid fans are still hurting over the loss of Forever, and to see him call playing Dr. Henry Morgan “the role of my dreams” is super poignant.
It’s always interesting to hear that the actors involved with shows are just as in dark as the audience about whether or not their show will be returning, although the stakes are certainly higher for those actually involved with the show, as they depend on programs like Forever for their livelihood. In the Instagram post, Gruffudd also relates his candid reaction to his series getting cancelled.
To be honest I really wasn’t expecting it. I knew the numbers hadn’t been great, but I also knew the studio and the network both loved the show, and of course that it had an incredible fan base…so I thought we were in with a pretty good chance.
It’s always going to be annoying to some factions when a network cancels a series, but it’s especially annoying when a network cancels a series with an avid fanbase like ABC’s Forever. Especially when the network picks up other shows with less intense fanbases and similar ratings. I guess we must be content with the fact that that creator Matthew Miller capably wrapped up the finale with a satisfying conclusion relating to the his arch nemesis Adam, as well as the secret he had kept from his NYPD partner, Joe. I wish we could’ve stuck around for some potential romance next season and I wish we could have learned more about Henry and Abe’s years together, but I’m happy at least that the story was tied up nicely and thankful Gruffudd put so much into the role.
