‘Limitless’ was initially expected to return for a second run, but it’s one of the CBS shows now officially cancelled and won’t be returning elsewhere…
Despite both early assurances and then some behind-the-scenes possibilities, it seems that CBS show Limitless, a spin-off from the film, will actually prove to have had a limited run and is now officially cancelled.
The show – which starred Jake McDorman (American Sniper), Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter) and Colin Salmon (the 007 franchise) and with frequent appearances from the film’s original star Bradley Cooper – was not included in the CBS round-up of returning shows last week, but no-one was willing to say the show was finished. There was much talk that the moderately-rated but passionate fan-base for the show would see it shipped to the likes of pay-for-view platforms such as Amazon or Netflix. The series had done reasonably well in the ratings, but was often in direct competition with other high-rated shows on a popularTuesday night slot. It appears that such deals were investigated but neither company decided to go with a renewal.
Showrunner and creator Craig Sweeney took to Twitter late Wednesday to say the campaign to save it hadn’t worked…
“I’m truly sad to report that #Limitless will not continue on any platform. Thanks so much to everyone who watched.”
In our opinion, it’s a shame. Though there’s been a raft of inferior big-screen-to-tv projects in recent years (the forgettable Minority Report, the disappointing Rush Hour – now both cancelled) the quality of Limitless was ahead of the pack. The series mixed its wacky and serious tones with aplomb and even if labelled as a ‘procedural’, it frequently pushed against its boundaries and had many complimentary reviews. Executive producer and director Doug Aarniokoski exclusively told Impact about how well the production had worked and his hopes that the show would continue, but it was not to be. CBS shipped off Supergirl to The CW but renewed the likes of its news shows Code Black and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders – both generally expected to have had weaker prospects than Limitless.
Person of Interest, another controversial cancellation by CBS, has taken over the Limitless time-slot, burning off its final run of episodes…
It is not known what Craig Sweeney’s next projects will be following the news but Doug has recently also been working on episodes of the upcoming American Gothic and looks set to be working on new show Bull.
