Why did ABC cancel The Partridge Family after 4 seasons in 1974

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It just occurred to me that, this coming Saturday (March 23) will officially mark 50 years since the series finale of The Partridge Family (entitled "S.O.S.") originally aired. This of course, wasn't intended to be a "final episode" that gave any type of closure or resolution to the characters.

Danny Bonaduce claimed he found out that The Partridge Family was canceled when he reported to the Columbia-Screen Gems lot for work one morning, and the guard at the gate said to him, "The Partridge Family doesn't live here anymore!"...

I know that ABC probably didn't do the show any favors when they moved it from its long time Friday night slot to Saturdays, where it had to go up against All in the Family on CBS, which was like the top rated show on all of television at the time.

Also, David Cassidy hinted that after his contract was up, he was ready to move on. Among the Partridge kids, David/Keith was probably the hardest to replace since he was the lead singer.

[MIKEPR]

So what else is new?

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My Journey Through 1970s TV: Saturday Nights, 1973

Ratings had already started to fall for The Partridge Family, and the move to Saturday night in its fourth and final season would seal its fate. The addition of Ricky Segall only made viewers change channels faster before he could start singing.

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The novelty of a singing family grew tired with viewers?

[MIKEPR]

How much longer are we gonna drag this on?

the show's ratings slipped after the 4th season!

Plus, David would have quit anyhow because his contract was up.

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Originally Posted by MIKEPR

So what else is new?

What do you mean "so what else is new"? Why do you seemingly need to make it sound like we should already know all of this stuff therefore, there's little to no point into continuing to ask about why The Partridge Family ended after only four seasons?

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Originally Posted by MIKEPR

How much longer are we gonna drag this on?

the show's ratings slipped after the 4th season!

Plus, David would have quit anyhow because his contract was up.

Why were the show's ratings slipping in the very first place? Let's take the stuff about David likely quitting anyway out of the equation? That overall still doesn't completely explain things. So you can't just write it off as saying "how much longer are we going to drag this on?" Again, why does it seemingly bother you that people like me are curious about why The Partridge Family simply didn't last longer.

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Originally Posted by MIKEPR

How much longer are we gonna drag this on?

the show's ratings slipped after the 4th season!

Plus, David would have quit anyhow because his contract was up.

Keep in mind that The Partridge Family was actually a top 20 show in the Nielsen ratings for the second and third seasons, when it was airing on Friday nights at 8:30. It actually got much better ratings than its rival show The Brady Bunch, which never ranked higher than 31st place (for Season 3 in 1971-72) in the Nielsens.

ABC then in its infinite wisdom for the fourth season, moved the show to Saturday nights directly against All in the Family on CBS, which proved to be quite foolhardy since All in the Family was the #1 rated show on TV at the time. And as a result of all of this, The Partridge Family slipped all the way down to 78th place for its final season.

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‘The Partridge Family’ Was Canceled Because of ‘All In The Family,’ Shirley Jones Said

Shirley Jones said 'The Partridge Family' couldn't compete against an edgier show like 'All In The Family.'

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I explain how this great television series, The Partridge Family ended. I cover info including plot, characters and even a bit of trivia.