Why ABC Cancelled ‘Station 19’

Despite being a fan favorite with a plethora of “Save Station 19” petitions circulating as of January 4, 2024 the show is still very much cancelled.

Since the cancellation of the beloved show Station 19 is still set, we thought we’d looking into why ABC decided to cancel it. For fans of the show we’re sorry to say that Station 19 will end this year with an abbreviated seventh season. Yes, a cancellation and a shorter season (we’re so sorry fans). The news came on Dec. 8 when ABC announced that Station 19 will conclude with 10 episodes. This will be the show’s shortest order since it debuted,( like Grey’s) as a midseason replacement show when it launched in spring 2018. 

Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy are currently serving as the only remaining shows on ABC produced by hitmaker Shonda Rhimes. Shondaland is now based exclusively at Netflix with none of her shows transfering to Disney at this time. It leaves you asking yourself, why would the network ax one of its Thursday staples? The answer can be found in the numbers, or as we think of it our least favotire subject: Math.

Station 19, which started off as a backdoor pilot within season 14 of Grey’s, finished the 2022-23 broadcast season as the No. 13 drama among the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic with a 0.71 rating (about 926,000 viewers). Meanwhile, the show 911 which makes the move from Fox to ABC this year — finished the season tied as the No. 1 broadcast drama (with NBC’s Chicago PD and Chicago Fire) in the key demographic with a 1.0 rating. Among total viewers, 911 averaged 7.1 million vs. 5.2 million for Station 19 with seven days of DVR (not including streaming). Both shows are produced by Disney-owned studios with 20th Television behind 911 and ABC Signature doing Station 19. For the 2021-22 season, 911 was the second-most-watched drama on broadcast in the demo (tied with NBC’s Chicago shows and behind only the final season of This Is Us) with a 1.3. Station 19 ranked 28th with a 0.9. For the 2020-21 season, 911 drew a 1.8 in the demo, while Station 19 had a 1.3.

Stick with us here we’re almost out of the numbers okay?

Station 19, it’s also worth noting, has experienced drama behind the scenes as well as multiple showrunner changes. The show’s creator Stacy McKee departed after season two and Krista Vernoff has been running both the firefighter spinoff and Grey’s up until the end of last season. Peter Paige (The Fosters) and Zoanne Clack (who had been with Grey’s since the pilot) are set to take over as showrunners of Station 19 for its final season after Vernoff better integrated both shows. As you can see leadership on this show has been a mess. What is happening?

If it’s any consolation ABC has stated that the network looks forward to celebrating the show’s farewell season, which includes its landmark 100th episode.