‘Not Dead Yet’ Canceled & ‘Lopez vs. Lopez’ Renewed
The series starring Gina Rodriguez has been canceled after season two and the Geroge Lopez-led series has been renewed for season three
Credit: ABC/NBC | Courtesy
Latinx-led shows have historically been few and far between but after the cancellation of fan favorites including This Fool and Gordita Chronicles, it seems representation is plateauing despite progress. It was recently announce that Not Dead Yet starring Gina Rodriguez has been canceled after season two. Meanwhile Lopez vs. Lopez, starring George Lopez and his daughter Mayan, has been renewed for a third season making it the most prominent Latinx-led show on network TV. The news follows the cancellation of Station 19 which starred Jaina Lee Ortiz and the renewal of Will Trent for a third season which stars Ramon Rodriguez. A Latino Donor Collaborative’s 2023 Latinos in Media report found that last year, Latinx leads in television made up 3.3 percent, 5.7 percent of co-leads, 1.6 percent of showrunners and 1.9 percent of directors. This news is in line with these startling statistics but the silver lining amid cancellations is that not only is Lopez vs. Lopez a Latinx-led series, it’s also dedicated to telling Latinx stories and features Latinx guest stars and was co-created by Debby Wolfe who is of Salvadoran descent and previously worked on fan-favorite, One Day at a Time.
“SEASON 3!!!!!!!! I cannot thank you all enough for loving and watching Lopez vs Lopez as much as we do! THANK YOU! Thank you to our incredible writers, cast, crew.. can’t wait to do it all again! Thank you NBC and Universal! WE LOVE YOU ALL! POR LA GENTE 🔥✨” Mayan shared in a caption of an Instagram post about the renewal.
The series was inspired by Mayan and George’s real-life relationship after Wolfe saw her TikToks during the pandemic finding humor in their complicated relationship after having not spoken for a decade. The series also features Selenis Leyva as Rosie, Mayan’s mother, Al Madrigal as George’s friend, Oscar, Matt Shively, and Brice Gonzalez as Mayan’s partner Quinten and son Chance, respectively. At the heart of the series is the father-daughter duo growing together and confronting some of the pain while also learning to live together and be a family.
“It means absolutely everything. And I really think about that every single day when I go to work we’re like the second biggest group in this country. And we’re four percent of representation in Hollywood, which is ridiculous, and our shows are getting canceled. And so us being able to survive, I think it’s very much a metaphor of how strong we are as a community that we’re pushing through, and also our stories are able to be on this huge network of NBC,” Mayan previously told HipLatina. “I think a win for one is a win for all. I mean, the fact that we’re the only show with a prominent, Latine cast it’s really unfortunate. I think that It also in itself bring attention to the issue.”
Not Dead Yet debuted to critical acclaim and was ABC’s most-watched comedy debut in over four years but season two struggled in the ratings. The series starred Rodriguez as newly single Nell Serrano who left behind a decade-long relationship to start over. The once-succesful journalist takes the only job she can get — obituary writer. She soon discovers that she can talk to and see the dead people she’s writing about who teach her life lessons. Season two saw her spark a budding romance with TJ played by Jesse Garcia (Flamin’ Hot) and the season ended on a cliffhanger that fans will now never get closure on.
Rodriguez, who also executive produced the series, has yet to make a statement about the show coming to an end but she previously spoke to NBC News about why she connected with the series. “When I got the script, it made me laugh and cry; it made me think about how flawed I am and how much growth I need to keep working on, and how you’re constantly evolving and shedding. I just found that to be really relatable.”
Per Live + Same Day data from Nielsen, Season 2 of Lopez vs. Lopez premiered to 2.3 million viewers and ranged from 1.5 to 2.2 million viewers for the rest of the season, while NBCUniversal notes that the show has reached 10 million viewers to date across platforms, including Peacock. Not Dead Yet drew the smallest audience of ABC’s three half-hour comedies this season (including Abbott Elementary and The Conners), averaging about 3.2 million viewers in Nielsen’s seven-day ratings not including streaming.
Lopez vs Lopez returns fall 2024 on NBC Fridays at 8:30/7:30c
