Home Economics canceled at ABC after three seasons

The comedy series Home Economics was recently canceled by ABC after three seasons. The show followed three siblings who were at extremely different socioeconomic levels. Sarah (Caitlin McGee) was a single mother in financial peril, Tom (Topher Grace) was a struggling middle-class family man, and Connor (Jimmy Tatro) was a successful software entrepreneur.

The program examined the difficulties and advantages of each sibling's situation and demonstrated how their disparate financial circumstances affected their interactions with one another and those around them.

The official synopsis of the series, as per Rotten Tomatoes, reads:

"A look at the heartwarming, yet super uncomfortable and sometimes frustrating relationship between three adult siblings: one in the 1%, one middle-class and one barely holding on."

Home Economics' ratings began dropping since its premiere in 2021. As per The Hollywood Reporter, the show had an average of 2.92 million viewers during the 2022–2023 television season. It marked a considerable drop as the show garnered about 3.7 million viewers per episode in season 1.

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Why was Home Economics canceled? Possible reasons explored

There are several reasons why Home Economics might have had trouble drawing viewers. First off, the premise of the play was rather specialized. The three siblings in the episode were from vastly diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Some viewers who were unable to identify with the characters' experiences may have found this premise to be off-putting.

The tone of the program was also erratic. It occasionally turned into a touching comedy about families. Other times, it was a scathing parody of inequality and money. Some viewers might have been baffled and rather offended by this tone mismatch.

Third, the writing for the show was inconsistent. While some of the episodes were funny and well-written, others fell flat and lacked imagination. The show's low ratings may have also been caused by the inconsistent writing quality.

While the show was canceled, it wasn't a total flop. The program had a modest but devoted fan base and earned some favorable reviews from critics. Over the years, the drama has received plaudits for its varied cast as well as for its willingness to address difficult societal problems, including poverty and wealth inequality. The program's downfall was ultimately caused by its poor viewership, though.

The fact that ABC is having trouble finding popular comedies is evidenced by the termination of Home Economics. The Goldbergs, American Housewife, and Single Parents are just a few of the comedies the network recently canceled. The network has seen difficulties in recent years, and as a result, the ratings of all of its programs have certainly suffered due to their overall decline in viewing.

It is important to note that Home Economics' rating decline was not as dramatic as that of certain other programs. For instance, in the second season, the show's ratings only dropped by roughly 20%. Even still, this slight reduction was large enough to force the discontinuation of the show.

The comedy programming on ABC right now is not very strong. Abbott Elementary and The Conners are the two comedies that are doing well. It remains to be seen whether the network's new comedies, such as Not Dead Yet and The Rookie: Feds, will be able to fill the vacuum left by Home Economics and other canceled comedies.

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All seasons of Home Economics are available to stream on Hulu.