Back when the fate of 911 was on the line, talks happened behind the scenes. As FOX canceled the series, ABC saved it. The same didn’t happen with 911: Lone Star, which came to an end in the 2024–2025 TV season, disappointing fans around the world.
There was always the question of why ABC didn’t save the series as it did the flagship one. That’s especially the case now that ABC has picked up a new series in the franchise, 911: Nashville. Was it because another spin-off was in the works? Was it due to the creative team behind the series being done with it? It turns out that it was all due to business needs, and that makes it more disappointing.
Disney explains the cost issues with 911: Lone Star
According to an interview with Deadline, Disney TV’s Eric Schrier explained that the cost of producing 911: Lone Star was too high compared to the views that it was bringing in. Now, that was also the reasoning behind FOX initially canceling 911, so why couldn’t Disney move the Ryan Murphy series over to ABC like it did with the flagship?
It looks like there wasn’t as much hope that Lone Star would pull in the views that 911 would end up doing. The flagship series had more followers via the linear network, and so, Disney decided that it wasn’t worth the risk of bringing the Rob Lowe series over.
This is certainly disappointing for fans to hear. It’s one of the most common reasons behind cancellation decisions, but it’s also one of the most understandable. After all, the networks are a business, and if not enough people are watching, a show becomes unviable cost-wise. The networks need to make a profit if we want more shows to remain on the air.
Schrier did go on to explain that Disney is not the only studio that is struggling with the cost issue. It’s at a point where all networks and studios need to find a way to cut the costs of producing the shows so that they are in line with the viewership that they bring in.
Something that is consistently performing above average in the linear ratings are going to have a bigger budget than those that are underperforming. If a budget can’t be cut — which is often done via pay cuts, taking characters out for a few episodes, or reducing the episode counts in seasons, then it gets to a point where a series has to be canceled.
So, in other words, we need to watch more. It’s at a point where a lot of people don’t want to risk getting invested in a freshman series because it could get canceled, but that’s part of the problem. Watching live is how the networks and studios are deciding if a show can keep going.