Canceled After One Episode, ABC's "Emily's Reasons Why Not"

[JamesG]

This sitcom was an ultimate flop and has the dubious honor of being one of the only shows to be canned after one episode had aired.

"Emily's Reasons Why Not" starred Heather Graham as a self-help author unable to find true love. She has her own rule for romances that if she finds five reasons to break up with a guy then she does so.

Despite millions of dollars on heavy promotion, ABC yanked the show after its only airing on January 9, 2006. One of the main reasons for it's failure was that many called it a pure copycat of HBO's "Sex and the City" and nobody tuned in.

I recall seeing the ads on commercials, buses, magazines...; they really went all out on this one only to be canned after 1 show.

Did anyone get to see the only airing of this?

[80sTrivia]

I remember seeing the promos for the show and hearing that it had been canned after only one episode, but I didn't catch the episode (apparently, no one else did, either)!

[TJL]

Oooooh boy, what a disaster that show was.

I had the displeasure of watching the one and only episode of Emily's Reasons Why Not, and it was not good. Very cliched, very SATC, and not funny.

It's a shame it didn't work out for Heather Graham. She's a very charming (not to mention beautiful) actress, and I think she would be great in a TV comedy.

She did pretty well in 2004 in a multi episode role on Scrubs, and an episode of Arrested Development, so I guess they were hoping she could carry her own show.

Emily was not that show.

I can see her in an ensemble sitcom surrounded by other talented people. I hope she tries TV again.

[Scoobiedoo30]

I cant belive that this show has been canncelled just after one episode.

[TJL]

I just did a quick Google search on ERWN, and i found this site dedicated to the show.

http://www.emilysreasonswhynot.org/

As you can probably tell by looking at this site, not much was done with it after the pilot aired.

[JamesG]

Originally Posted by TJL

I just did a quick Google search on ERWN, and i found this site dedicated to the show.

http://www.emilysreasonswhynot.org/

As you can probably tell by looking at this site, not much was done with it after the pilot aired.

There's nothing on that site. It's just a title page. They are "still in progress" though.

[bencasey]

The premise of the show was absolutely ridiculous. Heather Graham, who is absolutely goregous, blonde hair, blue eyes, big tits, and I'm sure gets hit on 200 times a day, is cast as someone who can't get a guy. Just too preposterous of an idea. I know she's a complete idiot in real life but if you look like that it doesn't really matter, does it.

[TJL]

Originally Posted by bencasey

The premise of the show was absolutely ridiculous. Heather Graham, who is absolutely goregous, blonde hair, blue eyes, big tits, and I'm sure gets hit on 200 times a day, is cast as someone who can't get a guy. Just too preposterous of an idea. I know she's a complete idiot in real life but if you look like that it doesn't really matter, does it.

I've known a lot of girls in my life who are beautiful and smart and a total catch, yet can't seem to find the right guy or have a decent relationship. It's not that uncommon.

I think Emily's inability to find a guy is a lot like Heather Graham's lack of success in the movies and on TV. She really should be doing better careerwise.

[JamesG]

Originally Posted by TJL

I've known a lot of girls in my life who are beautiful and smart and a total catch, yet can't seem to find the right guy or have a decent relationship. It's not that uncommon.

I think Emily's inability to find a guy is a lot like Heather Graham's lack of success in the movies and on TV. She really should be doing better careerwise.

I agree. She should be doing better career wise. Has she done anything big since Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me?

[Du Mont]

Originally Posted by JamesG

This sitcom was an ultimate flop and has the dubious honor of being one of the only shows to be canned after one episode had aired.

"Emily's Reasons Why Not" starred Heather Graham as a self-help author unable to find true love. She has her own rule for romances that if she finds five reasons to break up with a guy then she does so.

Despite millions of dollars on heavy promotion, ABC yanked the show after its only airing on January 9, 2006. One of the main reasons for it's failure was that many called it a pure copycat of HBO's "Sex and the City" and nobody tuned in.

I recall seeing the ads on commercials, buses, magazines...; they really went all out on this one only to be canned after 1 show.

Did anyone get to see the only airing of this?

It is a bit of a myth that 'Emily's Reason's Why Not' bombed in the ratings. It was a disappointing launch, but not a bomb. The show got a 4.4HH/6%, 2.8 in A18-49, and 6.2 million viewers. The show that replaced it a week later (an encore 'The Bachelor: Paris' got a 2.9 A18-49).

In fact, the morning after 'Emily's' debut, the PR folks at ABC even wrote a laudatory press release on the opening night of 'Emily':

Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Quick Take for Monday, January 9, 2006 (Based on Fast Affiliate Ratings)
Released by ABC (abridged)

“Emily’s Reasons Why Not” Earns Second in its Targeted Demo of Women 18-34

With the first week of its post-“MNF” female targeted Monday night line-up (“Wife Swap”/”Emily’s Reasons Why Not”/”Jake in Progress”/”The Bachelor: Paris”), ABC earned second-place on the night among Adults 18-34 (2.9/8), Women 18-49 (4.4/10) and Women 18-34 (4.0/10). ABC garnered its best numbers on the night among Women 18-49 and Women 18-34 since November – since 11/28/05.

“Emily’s Reasons Why Not” (9:00-9:30 p.m.)
In its series debut, “Emily’s Reasons Why Not” took second-place in its half-hour among Women 18-34 (3.3/8).

“Jake in Progress” (9:30-10:00 p.m.)
On its second season premiere, ABC’s “Jake in Progress” posted its best-ever Adult 18-49 rating (2.5/6) for a regularly scheduled telecast of the show.

It's a bit hazy just why ABC so suddenly dumped the show, along with 'Jake in Progress', both never to be seen again. It seems the execs at ABC didn't like the upcoming episodes of either series, and they blamed the creative failures of 'Emily's' on the fact they bought it without a pilot...'Jake in Progress' was a second season pick-up, and they never said what went wrong in season two, but my guess it was the re-tinkering from the first season just didn't work. I watched both shows and found them mildly amusing ('Emily' was easily as good as CBS's 'Courting Alex'). Given time, they might have jelled into good young adult comedies, but we'll never know.

I've heard there are six unaired 'Emily's Reasons Why Not' episodes and as many as eight unaired 'Jake in Progress' episodes. 'Crumbs' was another decent 2005-6 ABC sitcom yanked before it finished its run and never seen again.

[TJL]

Originally Posted by DuMont Demo

It's a bit hazy just why ABC so suddenly dumped the show, along with 'Jake in Progress', both never to be seen again. It seems the execs at ABC didn't like the upcoming episodes of either series, and they blamed the creative failures of 'Emily's' on the fact they bought it without a pilot...'Jake in Progress' was a second season pick-up, and they never said what went wrong in season two, but my guess it was the re-tinkering from the first season just didn't work. I watched both shows and found them mildly amusing ('Emily' was easily as good as CBS's 'Courting Alex'). Given time, they might have jelled into good young adult comedies, but we'll never know.

I've heard there are six unaired 'Emily's Reasons Why Not' episodes and as many as eight unaired 'Jake in Progress' episodes. 'Crumbs' was another decent 2005-6 ABC sitcom yanked before it finished its run and never seen again.

I agree with you about Jake in Progress. The first season was pretty good, John Stamos was funny, but season two felt like like a completely different show. They shouldn't have brought in the ex wife.
Emily's Reasons Why Not was a Sex And The City clone, pure and simple. It could have been more original.