Was The Catch canceled too early on ABC?

ABC pulled the plug on its midseason replacement The Catch after just two seasons. But was the show finally heating up or did ABC make the right call?

In season 1, The Catch tried to be a caper drama centered around a con-artist who falls in love with one of his targets. When she finds out, she puts all her resources and detective skills into tracking him down. Quickly, she realizes that she loves him too. Even if he bankrupted her and her company.

The Catch navigated their love story and thievery deftly. Then in season 2, it evolved into more of a “rom-com.” But in trying to cater to what The Catch thought the audience wanted, they found themselves getting lost in an unclear vision. There wasn’t enough tension, romance or comedy for the show to hold its audience, and ultimately, ABC decided to cancel it the day of the season 2 finale.

Obviously, the news came out a really bad time, because season 2’s cliffhanger was actually pretty good. For the first time in the series, it finally looked like the main couple was going to be forced apart. And if they were apart, then the show had more breathing room to explore several other dynamics and characters — which is where The Catch suffered most. Basically, the show presented a cast of characters that was neither entirely bad or entirely good. Instead, their morals were all very, very gray. More importantly, they were all very interesting in their own right.

But without a compass to guide them, The Catch struggled to define each character.

So though the network chose to cancel the show, one thing is clear: The Catch team had plans for a third season.

Because when The Catch’s executive producer, Allan Heinberg, sat down with Entertainment Weekly, he talked about a much clearer vision.

"Season 3 resets the entire show and reframes all the conflicts and all the relationships in the same way that season 2 did. It’s a brand new show when we come back, or if we come back."

For any fan of the show, that feels like an omission. It’s almost as if he wants to say, “We were so close to finding our footing.”

Without a third season, we’ll never know if Ben and Rhys repair their romance. We’ll never know if Tommy ever makes peace with himself. We’ll never see Tessa run an empire with her mother or whether Margot and Danny have a happy ending.

So … someone link me a fanfic, please.

Home/TV