Lucifer has brought some distinctly devilish fun to the small screen since it premiered on Fox in winter 2016, and it won a small but dedicated audience. Unfortunately for that audience, the devilish fun is going straight to hell. The show has officially been cancelled after three seasons on the network, and it's not the only supernatural drama to get the axe. The Exorcist has been cancelled as well. Lucifer star Tom Ellis shared the Lucifer news on social with a message to fans:
Based off his post on Twitter, Tom Ellis is clearly upset that he'll no longer have the chance to play Lucifer in primetime. His version of the devil is unlike any other to hit the airwaves. Based on a DC Comics character of the same name, Lucifer Morningstar left Hell after he got sick of his work in the underworld and came topside to become a Los Angeles nightclub owner. He ended up helping the LAPD solve crimes alongside his partner Chloe, all while various other divine characters turn up to interfere. Lucifer has made all kinds of deals with humans to deliver their deepest, darkest desires, but it seems no deals with any devils were struck to save Lucifer.
As much of a bummer as the Lucifer cancellation will be to many, it may not come as a surprise to any fans who were paying attention to the ratings and viewership. TV By The Numbers reports that Lucifer averages a disappointing 0.8 rating in the key 18-49 age demographic in Live+Same day calculations and only 3.3 million viewers. The show does get a bump in Live+7 day calculations, with averages rising to a 1.4 rating and a bit more than 5 million viewers in the key demo. Those numbers may have been enough to keep a show alive on cable or The CW, but not necessarily on one of The Big Four networks.
Even less of a surprise is the cancellation of The Exorcist. The Friday night fare aired its Season 2 finale way back in December, and it was likely only a matter of time before official news broke of the show coming to an end. Even the showrunner had doubts that The Exorcist had a future on Fox in the wake of the Fox-Disney deal. The show also had a spot on our list of 14 big network shows in danger of cancellation, and it's not the only series on that list to get the axe.
All things considered, the cancellations of Lucifer and The Exorcist may mean that fans of Gotham may want to start worrying about its future on Fox. Also telling the stories of DC Comics characters, Gotham's ratings have been on par with Lucifer, which makes them higher than The Exorcist but not exactly competitive with a lot of the other programming in primetime. We can only wait and see if the Fox bloodbath continues after the big cancellations of only yesterday.
The good news is that all the cancellations undoubtedly mean new series are in the works. Fox officially announced the renewal of Last Man Standing, which previously aired on ABC, for a Season 7 to premiere in the fall. For what you can watch while we wait for all the fall premieres, take a look at our summer TV premiere guide.
