ABC Boots Shonda Rhimes’ ‘Still Star-Crossed’ To Saturdays
After just three episodes, ABC has decided to move Shonda Rhimes’ Shakespearean series Still Star-Crossed to Saturdays. The show originally aired on Monday nights following The Bachelorette. Instead of making the change immediately, the network also decided to postpone airing the next episode until July 8th, which of course didn’t sit well with fans.
While Shonda Rhimes’ productions usually knock it out the park, Still Star-Crossed didn’t seem to resonate the same way with audiences or critics as Grey’s Anatomy or Scandal. The show has averaged a 0.4 rating with adults 18-49 and 1.95 million viewers per episode. It’s core fans though are still rooting and preparing to fight for the series. There are already a few petitions in support of the show floating around.
The show finds its inspiration from Melinda Taub’s book that goes by the same name. The cast has mentioned in interviews though that there are a lot of differences. Maybe it’s those differences that hurt the show’s story. It could also be the Shakespearean setting without the true Shakespearean writing that turned away viewers. While live tweeting the premiere, I saw a few disgruntled Shakespeare fans bashing the show for its lack of the familiar writing style and the non-canon nature of the show.
Also, Shonda usually does a lot more writing for her more popular shows. Still Star-Crossed is primarily written by Heather Mitchell. There’s also fact that some questioned if the show’s diverse cast really fit the Verona setting or if it was an attempt to simply be “politically correct” as some believe is the agenda of diverse series. The timing of the series may have also impacted its ratings. The show was originally scheduled to be a mid-season premiere and not a summer series.
Performance wise, I have enjoyed Still Star-Crossed. Lashana Lynch who plays Rosaline Capulet and Wade Briggs (Benvolio) have great chemistry. Lashana, who met Sterling Sulieman (Prince Escalus) just a day before shooting their first scene, a steamy argument and make out, has brought sass and strength to the young Capulet who goes from servant to Lady overnight. Sulieman himself has given a pretty good performance as a young prince who takes over Verona during difficult times. Sulieman has starred on The Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars. The cast also includes Reign alum Torrance Coombs and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Merlin star Anthony Head.
Why do you think Still Star-Crossed missed the mark?
Kira McCall covers entertainment for MFST. Follow her on Twitter at cocovanilla45 and kiramira_.
Kira McCall
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I love the show and I was very upset that it didn’t come on this Monday. I was looking forward to it but now I have to wait until Saturday 8th to see it again (Sad). Please don’t cancel the show!
I like the show. It is the only thing I am watching. I appreciate the break from all the other genres. The morality level is much more digestible compared to other Shonda Rhimes shows.
Most of all I like the multicultural casting.