Queens Cancelled at ABC

ABC has dethroned its Queens.

The network has cancelled the musical drama, which will not return for Season 2, TVLine has learned.

Queens averaged not quite 1.9 million total viewers along with a 0.5 demo rating (with Live+7 DVR playback factored in). Among the eight dramas ABC has aired this TV season, it ranks last in audience and bests only Promised Land in the demo. In fact, Queens was the least watched non-CW freshman drama this TV season.

Queens starred Eve, Brandy, Naturi Naughton and Nadine Velazquez as the members of a 1990s girl rap group called the Nasty Bitches. At the series’ outset, the estranged bandmates reunited after a sample of one of their hits reignited the public’s interest. Over the course of Season 1, the women settled decades-old arguments and grew closer, eventually opening their own record label. But the group was fractured when Brianna was shot at midseason and went off-screen after recovering, a move made to accommodate Eve’s real-life pregnancy.

In a flash-forward in the Season 1 finale, the Nasty Bitches — who’d taken to calling themselves the Queens — kicked off a live performance in which it seemed like Brianna might have returned… but the episode ended on a cliffhanger before the audience could confirm.

“We know there’s someone under that fourth spotlight, and who is it?!,” series creator/showrunner Zahir McGhee told TVLine in February. “Obviously, myself and the fans hope that it’s Eve.”

He added: “I know she’s super proud of the show, I know she’s watching. And the show is obviously better with her. So, we’re definitely hopeful that she’s going to come back. But it’s not something I ask her about, because [new motherhood] is just way more important, and we want to give her that time and that space.”

ABC also confirmed that the Latino family soap Promised Land won’t return for a second season. Yanked from the schedule after just five airings and shuttled off to Hulu, Promised Land had averaged 2.7 million viewers (besting only Queens, among all ABC scripted fare) and a 0.2 demo rating, with Live+7 playback.

Launch Gallery: 2022 Renewal/Cancellation Scorecard: What's Coming Back? What's Already Axed? What's Still on the Bubble?