Galavant Dead At ABC After Two Seasons

 

ABC has been the center of a whole lot of TV-related carnage this week, cutting a significant tie with Marvel by axing the terrific Agent Carter and shaking up its lineup by doling out pink slips to Castle, Nashville, The Muppets and The Family. But amid all the bloodletting, one quirky show met its maker quietly in the background: medieval musical comedy Galavant, which miraculously hung on at the notoriously ruthless network past its low-rated freshman run.

Star Joshua Sasse had been making tracks away from Galavant since the beginning of this pilot season, and he’s now locked down a series regular gig on the recently greenlit CW series No Tomorrow. With that caveat, the show’s chances had seemed slim from the launch of season 2, so news of an official cancellation comes as more of a formality than a bombshell. Regardless, Galavant was a superb, weird departure from ABC standards, and it’s frankly remarkable that it lasted as long as it did, even with myriad critics singing its praises.

The show’s composer, Alan Menken, tweeted his “love to our cast, our writers, our fans” and thrillingly hinted that Galavant “will live on in so many ways.” A follow-up tweet later broke the good news: Galavant, a theatrical addition to ABC if there ever was one, is headed to the stage for a play adaptation.

That’s a fascinating tidbit, and though there’s no telling whether Menken will see his plan to adapt Galavant for the theater crowd, it would certainly be interesting to see the story continue to play out on a more grandiose scale.