Fans want more “Enlisted” — but does Yahoo? And can producers keep the cast together? (Fox photo)
It’s something the Army has known for years but the entertainment community is just finding out: It’s tough to close a base.
Even a fictional one.
When Fox officially shut down Fort McGee, Florida — home to the freshman comedy “Enlisted” — this spring, fans mounted a push to convince the network the show was worth saving. They pointed to an awful time slot, a lack of promotion and an underappreciation for a growing social media following, which led to the show trending on Twitter frequently — sometimes when it wasn’t even on.
Mainstream media — give or take — voiced its agreement. But Fox didn’t budge, and the comedy’s series finale aired June 22. It was watched by less than a million people and earned a 0.3 rating in the coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic, well below its network competition and far off the pace of “The Last Ship,” the TNT drama about a fictional Navy destroyer. More than 5 million people tuned in to see the Navy save the world.
Still, fans aren’t done plotting for the show’s revival. The latest target, according to TheWrap.com, is Yahoo Screen, an online streaming service that recently announced it would air new episodes of “Community” — a comedy canceled by NBC after five seasons.
“Enlisted” fan Carl Brand, whom the website identifies as “one of the brains behind this operation,” told The Wrap that he thought a “Community”/”Enlisted” double feature would give the video service instant credibility as an original-content provider. He’s decked out his Twitter page to that effect.
A possible roadblock — cast members don’t have the luxury to see whether these last-ditch show-saving moves succeed. Parker Young, who played the youngest of the show’s three brothers, and Keith David, who played a less-than-traditional command sergeant major, are both slotted to star in “Things You Shouldn’t Say Past Midnight,” the first scripted comedy produced by DirecTV, according to The Hollywood Reporter. And the rest of the group can’t be expected to put off other offers while fans await resurrection, although some don’t seem entirely opposed to the idea.
Brand sent out a tweet seeking support for the idea. Send it along if you support keeping Fort McGee off the closure list.
5 Comments
Funny show worth keeping
The burn-off at 7 pm on Sundays during summertime was not a fair test of Enlisted’s potential anymore than the horrible treatment in the Friday 9:30 pm deathslot. Who wants to watch a cancelled show when it’s still sunny outside at 7 pm on a weekend?
The tragedy with Enlisted is that FOX never gave it a fighting chance. As many TV critics have complained, beyond the awful scheduling, FOX postponed its premiere to the dead of winter against the Olympics without telling anyone, gave it very little and very bad promotion, ignored all the critical acclaim, deprived it of a lead-in, showed the episodes out of order, and then showed reruns instead of all the new episodes, killing its momentum. Even a FOX executive admitted they had done badly by Enlisted. It’s one thing when a show is given a fair shot and just doesn’t succeed in finding an audience. But Enlisted was never given a fair shot, and it’s a much lauded and loved show that is as hilarious as it is heartwarming. It really deserves the chance it never got on FOX.
Bad show, shouldn’t show this show anymore. I’m a soldier and I believe it is a disgrace to real soldiers wearing the uniform.
The show should be picked up by TBS like Cougar Town was.
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