Thursday 5 January 2017

Disney Channel Cancels Girl Meets World


After months of speculation regarding whether Girl Meets World would be granted an additional season, Disney Channel confirmed today the show will air it's season finale on Friday 20 January 2017. 


The news comes as a surprise to the fans of the show which has managed to keep the interest of the fans of Boy Meets World and attract a new generation of viewers. Disney Channel did not provide a reason for the cancellation but did release the following statement:

Disney Channel will present the series finale of “Girl Meets World” on FRIDAY, JANUARY 20 (6:00 p.m. EST). In the episode, “Girl Meets Goodbye,” the Matthews family contemplates a life-changing decision,” the network said in a statement. “We are proud that for over 70 episodes, Michael Jacobs, April Kelly and the talented creative team, cast and crew entertained viewers with an authentic and heartfelt look at navigating adolescence.”

Girl Meets World was first announced in November 2012 as a follow-up to the 90s sitcom Boy Meets World. After the cast had been assembled, the pilot episode was filmed in March 2013 and three months later in June, Disney Channel officially gave the pilot the green light to begin production. The show premiered a year later on June 27 2014. Since the show's premiere, dozens of sitcoms have been rebooted or currently have reboots in the works. That's So Raven is set to have a sequel series in 2018 and the Full House, the ABC TGIF , which aired alongside Boy Meets World , has a sequel series titled Fuller House which was just renewed for a third season by Netflix last month.

Why did Disney Channel cancel such a popular and beloved show? Some fans seem to think the reason behind the surprise cancellation is due to Girl Meets World star Rowan Blanchard identifying as Queer in January 2016. However, Disney Channel does not seem to be opposed to having LGBT actors on their shows as they ordered a That's So Raven sequel series in October which is set to star Raven Symone who is known to be a lesbian. 

Furthermore, some of Raven's comments during the time as a presenter on The View became extremely controversial, more than Blanchard's.  The most likely reason is money. As the show grew older, the production costs are bound to increase as well as the salaries for the main stars depending on the clauses in their contracts. Another reason may also be due to the show's ratings which have plummeted. When Girl Meets World premiered in June 2014, it amassed over 5 million viewers. But the most recent season premiere in May 2016 only drew 1.89 viewers. 

On the other hand, Disney Channel's ratings have been down across the board. Although, fans of Disney Channel will recognise this strange situation, as the popular sitcom Shake It Up was also cancelled at the end of its third season despite good reviews and ratings in July 2013. Later that year, Zendaya was cast in her own show Super Awesome Katy (which we now know as K.C. Undercover). I would not be surprised if Disney Channel casts Rowan Blanchard or Sabrina Carpenter in their own shows at some point during the year. 

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