In a bit of a surprising turn of events, at least based on timing, ABC has decided to cancel their comedy series Fresh Off the Boat after six seasons. The final episodes of the series will air at the beginning of 2020.
Fresh Off the Boat has had an impressive run and by the time it concludes its sixth season, the show would have aired over 100 episodes since premiering in 2015. While the show is ending, the world of the series could possibly live on with a potential spinoff. There is an episode set to film in mid-November that will introduce characters that would be the focus of the new series. The current working title is Magic Motor Inn and it would focus on an Indian family whose daughter goes to school with Eddie Huang (Hudson Yang). The episode is not going to be a backdoor pilot so if ABC should decide to further develop the spinoff, it would need to shoot a pilot during pilot season.
The decision to end Fresh Off the Boat comes after star Constance Wu voiced her very public displeasure on social media when the show was renewed for a sixth season earlier this year. Wu later clarified, rather clumsily, that she was forced to give up working on another passion project due to her commitments to the series. Wu has also seen her movie profile rise during her time on the series. Crazy Rich Asians was one of the biggest hits of 2018 and this year’s Hustlers cleared $100 million at the domestic box office two weeks ago.
Fresh Off the Boat has seen its ratings decline over time but they really took a hit when the show was moved to Friday nights for its fifth season. Season to date, the series is averaging a 0.7 rating in adults 18-49 and 3.2 million viewers in the Nielsen Live+7.
Fresh Off the Boat also stars Randall Park, Jessica Forest Wheeler, and Ian Chen and is based on the memoir of the same name by Eddie Huang that is set in the 90s as Huang deals with his offbeat family.
