NBC cancels 'Sunnyside;' Kal Penn series moves to online

The cat of "Sunnyside"

ASAM NEWS

Things might not be looking so sunny for fans of the new comedy series Sunnyside. NBC has cancelled the show and will air the next seven episodes on digital platforms only, TV Line reports.

Sunnyside, co-created by Kal Penn, follows a councilman and a group of immigrants who are studying to become American citizens. The series premiered last month to the lowest ratings out of all big four broadcast network freshmen series this fall, according to TV Guide. 

The half-hour sitcom will be available on the NBC app. In addition, Hulu will also air the new episodes every Thursday, the same day it shows on NBC's app.

Starting on October 24, TV Guide reports that Sunnyside’s primetime 9:30 p.m. slot will be replaced with the final season of Will and Grace, originally set to debut early next year.

Sunnyside cast member Joel Kim Booster responded to getting the news on Columbus Day, writing that he felt the time slot had been “colonized.”

According to TV By The Numbers, the sitcom originally slated for 10 episodes will conclude with an extra 11th episode ordered by NBC.

Kal Penn, meanwhile, hasn’t yet ruled out the possibility of continuing with a second season elsewhere, possibly on Hulu. 

The streaming network similarly rescued the Mindy Project after it was cancelled by the Fox network. The Mindy Project, starring Mindy Kaling, continued to perform well enough for three more seasons.

In the Tweet, the co-creator praised Sunnyside’s “funny, heartwarming patriotic,” episodes for making up “the most diverse show on [TV].”

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Report: Hollywood diversity in film, TV slowly inches forwards

“OUR FINDINGS reveal that, regardless of race, audiences want to see diversity on the screen,” said Ana-Christina Ramón, director of research and civic engagement for the Division of Social Sciences, and one of the authors of UCLA's Hollywood Diversitiy Report.
“Our reports have continually shown that diversity sells, but the TV and film product continues to fall short. So audiences are left wanting more representation on screen that reflects the world they see in their daily lives.”

Despite the findings of the report, Hollywood decision makers still think the undeniable success of a movie like The Black Panther, is an anomaly. This type of thinking means Hollywood's trend to truly reflect its audience is moving forward at glacial speed.

The recent report suggests that the industry at large should invest in hiring that is reflective of the U.S. population, which is nearly 40 percent minority and at least 50 percent female. The fifth annual report was published today (Feb. 27).

"There is still a long way to go before women or people of color reach proportionate representation among the actors in film and television, but at least the trend lines for both groups point in the right direction," the report added.

Gains were primarily confined to digital scripted shows for female leads, broadcast television for leads, and show creators of color. The report emphasized that positive trends for women and minorities in film were much less pronounced.

The disparity extended to behind the camera also. Minorities made up 12.6 percent of film directors for the movies in the report; and minorities made up just 8.1 percent and women only 13.8 percent of writers of those movies.

The report also includes a preliminary analysis of gender and racial diversity among 2017–18 television programs. Actors of color claimed 28 percent of the lead roles for new scripted shows in broadcast, cable and digital, but women lost ground in acting roles. And there were fewer women or people of color among TV show creators compared to the 2015–16 season, the report found.

“Unfortunately, the industry has been much slower to accept the related truth that its success in providing today’s (and tomorrow’s) audiences with what they crave also hinges on the presence of diverse talent behind the camera — in the director’s chair, in the writers’ room, and in executive suites,” the report said. “The resulting missed opportunities, this report series has documented, are not good for Hollywood’s bottom line.”

Even as the report demonstrates audiences’ preference for films and TV shows with diverse casts, it paints a picture of an industry slow to correct its own gender and racial disparities and biases. The level of representation for women and minorities mostly improved from 2015 to 2016 — especially in acting roles in film and cable shows — but their numbers remained stagnant in some areas and declined in others.

Among viewers in Asian, Black and Latino households, the majority of the top 10 broadcast scripted shows featured casts that were at least 21 percent minority. In white households, half of the top rated shows boasted at least 21 percent minority casts. The same held true for scripted shows on cable.

Black actors held 12.5 percent of film roles, 17 percent of roles in broadcast scripted shows and 13.3 percent of roles in cable scripted shows analyzed by the report — figures that are generally in line with the African/American population in the U.S. overall. But all other minority groups were underrepresented.

Despite the presence of shows like Fresh Off the Boat, Master of None, Andi Mack and Into the Badlands, in the overall industry giving AAPI actors a host of opportunities, they still represent just a drop in the bucket. These shows and the sprinkling of AAPI actors in other shows indicate that some progress in casting, writing and producing is being made but it still doesn't match the the diversity of the audience.

Whether or not The Black Panther's success will be a cultural milestone that changes Hollywood's thinking or in typical Hollywood fashion, produce a bunch of copycat projects, thus produce real change, remains to be seen.

Taken as a whole, the study confirms that from a business standpoint, Hollywood executives are leaving money on the table when they don’t produce movies and television with diverse casts and creators.

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