Did they cancel the show because of low ratings or they wanted to move on?

[Confidence30]

Boy Meets World was turning into a drama sitcom by season 7. There were lot of bad episodes by this point. Did they cancel it because of low ratings?

[TMC]

Why Boy Meets World Was Cancelled Before Season 8

The reason for the cancellation wasn't publicly discussed but it was assumed that ABC made the decision based on declining ratings. Boy Meets World was a mainstay for ABC's popular Friday night comedy block, TGIF throughout its seven-season run. Viewership started to dip in season 7 before ABC ultimately cut the series. At the same time, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, another TGIF program, was moving to a new network. This brought an official end to ABC's original TGIF lineup.

Much of the Boy Meets World cast had spent most of their teens and early 20s working on the series. It was also likely that the actors wanted to pursue other career opportunities after spending the better part of a decade on one project. Based on the characters' ages within the series, it seemed like it was becoming more difficult to interweave their storylines. The series started to lose its charm as the characters got older and it felt as though Boy Meets World had run its course.

[JO Sweet Heart]

My guess is that it was a little bit of both reasons. I will admit that at one point I lost interest in this show and so there are episodes that I have never seen before, but even with that reason aside, interest in the show from the cast members themselves may not last forever either. When the Last Man Standing show wrapped up on ABC only to be resurrected later on by the FOX network, the girl who gave us the character of Mandy did not stick around because she had already made commitments to other projects.

God bless you and her and the cast members of this show always!!!

Holly

[TVSCREEN2015]

It was time to move on. Also, by 2000 ABC's TGIF was pretty much dead and old news. Sabrina moved to The WB and Boy Meets World ran it's course.

[TMC]

Rider Strong has said (on the Pod Meets World podcast) that he signed a 7 year contract when the show started, that would end by the time he was 20. This is alignment to the series going 7 seasons and the show ending when he was 20.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TVSCREEN2015

It was time to move on. Also, by 2000 ABC's TGIF was pretty much dead and old news. Sabrina moved to The WB and Boy Meets World ran it's course.

Boy Meets World Season 8 Was Cut Because Of A Fellow TGIF Show Changing Networks

• ABC's decision to end Boy Meets World after season 7 was influenced by its need for two anchor shows in its popular TGIF lineup, with Sabrina the Teenage Witch potentially being the second anchor if it hadn't jumped networks.
• The TV landscape has drastically changed in the last 20 years, with networks facing more competition and lower viewership numbers. The 8.7 million viewers that Boy Meets World averaged in its seventh season would be considered a success today.
• The concept of anchor shows, which used to be reliable series that boosted viewership for new shows, is not as important in today's TV programming. A modern airing of Boy Meets World might have been renewed for season 8 without the need for Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

Boy Meets World ended after season 7, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch factored into the decision. Both shows were part of ABC's popular "TGIF" lineup, which has been home to some of the network's most beloved programs, including Full House, Family Matters, and Step by Step. Boy Meets World joined the block when it premiered in 1993, with Sabrina the Teenage Witch added to the lineup with its first episode in '96. Both shows stopped airing in the TGIF block in 2000; Boy Meets World ended with season 7 that year, while Sabrina went on to air an additional three seasons on The WB.

Appearing on Pod Meets World, a podcast hosted by Boy Meets World stars Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong, and Will Friedle, stage manager and director Steve Hoefer discussed the choice to end the show and the role Sabrina the Teenage Witch played in the decision.

Would ABC Have Renewed Boy Meets World If It Aired Today?

Hoefer's comments highlight just how much the TV landscape has changed in the last 20 years, particularly for networks. Boy Meets World season 7 averaged 8.7 million viewers and, while less than the previous two seasons, a network would be thrilled by that number today. For comparison, even one of ABC's current top comedies, Abbott Elementary, averaged 3.95 million in the 2022-23 season, simply because even incredibly popular shows face far more competition today.

Hoefer's mention of "anchors" harkens back to a different time as well. Typically, anchors were seen as reliable, existing shows that could bolster new ones. The solid-performing series would often serve as a lead-in to the newer show, with networks hoping that viewers wouldn't change the channel after the anchor series ended. While this strategy is still a key part of TV programming, it's not as important as it once was.

With the rise of so many different TV platforms and cable channels, audiences have become accustomed to finding shows they want to watch, regardless of when and where they air. This has made anchor shows less necessary or at least not a guaranteed way to improve viewership numbers for another series or programming block. In that way, it's possible a Boy Meets World airing today would have been renewed for season 8, no Sabrina the Teenage Witch necessary.

[Worldsmount3]

Ok so a season 8 was never going to happen in understand spending 7 years of your life doing a TV show is good enough