FOX has opted not to renew its highest rated scripted series, "9-1-1", produced by 20th Television. The upcoming Season 6 finale on May 15 will be its last episode on FOX. But it will not be a series finale for the first responder drama, from creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, which has been picked up by 20th TV sibling ABC and will join the Disney network's lineup next season, making for one of the highest-profile series moves ever.
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As the article notes, there was this renewal report article for FOX back in March that said a renewal of 9-1-1 was 'very much uncertain'.
It also includes this info: "Because of that and the fact that Fox has no ownership in the series, which was developed when the network and 20th TV were part of the same company, negotiations between Fox and the studio might not be straightforward, I hear."
There was also this renewal report article for ABC in March saying this: "Should Fox, which does not own 9-1-1, not pick it up, the hit procedural, produced by ABC’s Disney sibling 20th Television, could potentially move to ABC, taking a slot from a current series."
So to sum it up, the show is produced by 20th Television which is under Disney- that answers your whole beginning regarding a show cancellation needing to first be announced, as they would know what's going on with it.
Station 19... Station Eleven is a completely different thing, but took too long to realize what I said and I couldn't edit haha
I followed this for several years but now I just catch up at times. It has kind of jumped the shark but is ok. Lesse, this one had their "serial killer" arc. The spinoff Lone Star had their serial arsonist arc. The Rookie has had their serial killer arc. I am waiting for one of the Star trek or Star Wars series to have a serial killer arc. Waiting for Oprah to tell an audience, "Serial Killers for everyone! Check under your seats!"
I'm not sure about a connection, and it's not like it's another outside studio picking it up, Disney's just shifting it to one of their own networks since they produce it. Fox probably told them it was coming or maybe they knew because of the one-but-not-both scenario, so during negotiations, Disney had time to consider moving it to ABC or shopping it to another network. Or they had the idea in place already after The Orville had a similar situation and was just waiting for the green light. Probably would have been different if it was produced by Sony or somebody who doesn't have broadcast networks themselves and would have to officially shop it around. Though I am surprised they moved it to ABC instead of FX (which Disney also acquired) or even Hulu, since that sort of genre is covered by Grey's Anatomy and Station Eleven.
It's the timing that I'm wondering about. Disney may not own FOX the network, but there's still some sort of connection. Usually, a show has to be cancelled, and that cancellation announced, before another network swoops in to feed on the carcass.
As for 9-1-1, yes, going into a season seven costs increase (note that SWAT over on CBS has not been renewed either, probably for the same budgetary reasons.) With that said, the show was the top-rated scripted show, drama or comedy, for FOX, you don't just cut your losses on that audience without a reason.
I suspect that the production company producing the show is now under the Disney umbrella. (20th Television). If that's the case, FOX would be paying Disney transmission fees to air the series. 20th Television also produces Lone Star, so it could be a case where FOX was willing to pay for one but not both, and Disney took the other show for ABC (there will be some schedule holes that need filling with the conclusion of A Million Little Things and some of the freshman series' not performing well).
Disney doesn't own Fox itself, they acquired 20th Century Fox's TV and film production studios and their assets and then dropped Fox from the name (it's now just 20th Century), but they didn't get the Fox network or Fox's sports and news networks because it's illegal under FCC rules as a way to prevent a monopoly. Once Disney acquired those assets, the Fox Corporation created Fox Entertainment Studios, which is producing the new Joel McHale show Animal Control for example.
I'm sure it comes down to how much it costs to make, it's been on a while and keeps trying one up itself with disasters which can't be cheap, on top of having talent like Angela Bassett, and other well known people like Jennifer Love Hewitt and Peter Krause plus the cast has kept getting larger. Fox isn't getting any revenue from it past the current season airing on TV and streaming on their website either, money from like syndication deals or past seasons streaming all goes to Disney. Fox probably decided to cut it loose and focus on something else they own themselves and get more back from in the long run. Once Lone Star gets too expensive or gets to syndication as well, it's likely going to be cancelled by Fox as well. Might last longer though, Lone Star tends to focus more on their personal lives than big natural or manmade disasters.
I don't watch this show or anything similar to it, but quite an interesting story... main show cancelled and move to a different network while the spin-off continues on the network the main show is moving away from.
That raises an interesting question, one I hadn't thought about before. Disney now, in effect owns two networks, ABC and FOX. I wonder if the plan is to shift more scripted shows to ABC while keeping FOX for sports and 'reality'/'competition' shows?
An yet they kept the spin off on FOX Who is making these decisions?? LOL!
That was totally unexpected! Wow! 😮