Pan Am Isn't Cancelled... Yet, Anyway

Things aren’t looking good for ABC’s freshman drama Pan Am. There hasn’t been any kind of official word on the subject of the series’ cancellation. In fact, word is, ABC is still considering the series’ return next fall. But it does look like there won’t be much left for Season 1.

TV Line posted the updates, citing a tweet by Karine Vanasse (she plays the French flight attendant Colette), stating that the cast and crew were told that the series is “only coming back for one more episode after Christmas.” From the sound of it, that’ll be it for the rest of the series’ first season. The next new episode is scheduled to air on December 4th.

Meanwhile, as to whether or not ABC plans to bring the show back, TVLine states that an ABC rep says, “Pan Am will wrap production on its first season in early January after completion of its 14th episode. A decision about about a second season will be made in May.”

It might be that the network is looking to pull the plug quietly, waiting until the series has been off the air for a while before announcing that they aren’t going to bring it back next season. At this point, I’d be mildly disappointed if that were the case. I'd compare the ABC series to Fox's Terra Nova in that they're both shows that sold something different but haven't quite lived up to their hype.

Much like with Terra Nova, I’ve continued to watch the show despite not having developed any kind of serious interest or attachment to it. Also like Terra Nova, I went into Pan Am wanting to like it and despite the appealing backdrop and likable actors, I haven’t been all that impressed with the story or the character development. But, unlike Terra Nova, which I’ve pretty much decided to cut loose after this week’s episode, I’ll probably continue to watch Pan Am through the remainder of its first season.