‘Bless the Harts’ Canceled

Bless the Harts will not be back for a third season.

Fox has canceled the animated comedy from creator Emily Spivey. The series, a co-production between Disney’s 20th Television and Fox Entertainment, will wrap its second and final season in May on the independent broadcast network.

The adult animated comedy, featuring a voice cast that includes Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell, Ike Barinholtz and Kumail Nanjiani, has been a lackluster performer in its second season as part of Fox’s Sunday night block. Its most recent original episode drew 56,000 total same-day viewers, a series low.

The cancellation comes as animated comedies typically take longer to produce, with creatives needing to know sooner in order to make a fall schedule. Fox, meanwhile, continues to build up its animated slate with an eye on full ownership of its programming. In addition to Disney-owned The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers, Fox has The Great North (a co-production with 20th), Housebroken (fully owned internally) and the recently picked up Dan Harmon series launching in 2022.

Fox’s animation push comes after the broadcast network purchased animation studio Bento Box, best known for Bob’s Burgers, in a bid to own its animated offerings. In success, animated comedies can become cash cows for networks and their owners with lucrative merchandising lines. Bob’s, Duncanville, The Great North, Family Guy and The Simpsons have all been renewed for the 2021-22 broadcast season.

Source: THR

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