A shakeup is underway at Freeform as two of the network’s original series, Single Drunk Female and The Watchful Eye, have officially been canceled. Single Drunk Female finished airing its second season on the Disney-based network in April while The Watchful Eye debuted its freshman season back in January.
Single Drunk Female followed Sofia Black-D’Elia‘s 20-something alcoholic Sam whose only chance to get things back on track after hitting rock bottom is to move back home with her mother Carol (Ally Sheedy). From her home in Boston, she tries to sober up, clean up her act, and put her worst self behind her, though that doesn’t come without challenges. Season 2 picked up with Sam a year and a half into her sobriety as things are finally turning around for her for the better with a new job and a new potential love interest. As life continued to throw her curveballs, like a mini The Breakfast Club reunion with Molly Ringwald, she had to figure out how to enact change in her life when she can or simply ride it out when it was out of her control.
Black-D’Elia and Sheedy star with Rebecca Henderson, Sasha Compère, Lily Mae Harrington, and Garrick Bernard. The series hails from Simone Finch who created Single Drunk Female as a semi-autobiographical comedy based on her own struggles with addiction. Despite some flaws, fans and critics were quick to praise the series for its sharp writing and sense of humor which, combined with some solid ratings, earned it a swift renewal for Season 2. Unfortunately, a repeat wasn’t in the cards for the series meaning the show will end on a rather bittersweet note with Brit’s (Compère) marriage and James’s (Bernard) relapse.
What Was The Watchful Eye About?
The Watchful Eye, meanwhile, was billed as a contemporary Hitchcockian thriller that centered on Elena Santos (Mariel Molino). She’s thrown into the world of old money and dark secrets as she becomes the live-in nanny for an affluent Manhattan family in their mysterious apartment building The Greybourne. As she settles in, she slowly realizes the complex politics at play between the building’s residents and how everyone within has their own dark secrets and complicated pasts. Elena is up for the challenge, and she has a few secrets of her own that’ll help her survive in the building. Season 1 revolved around a mystery regarding the death of Matthew’s (Warren Christie) wife who jumped from her balcony supposedly of her own volition, but other residents may have had reasons to get rid of her.
Alongside Molino, the series featured Christie, Amy Acker, Jon Ecker, Aliyah Royale, Lex Lumpkin, Henry Joseph Samiri, and Kelly Bishop among its stars. Julia Durk created and produced the series in collaboration with Ryan Seacrest Productions and ABC Signature while Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist alum Emily Fox served as showrunner. The mystery series didn’t garner quite as much favor as Single Drunk Female, though it seems the cancelations were more about a change of direction than anything.
Freeform‘s slate still has a few originals left on it, but it’ll soon see another loss as Grown-ish enters its sixth and final season. New blood will soon arrive on the network, however, as former SNL head writer Anna Drezen brings her animated comedy Praise Petey aboard in July. Freeform also has Cruel Summer which is still killing it for the network in terms of viewership.
Both The Watchful Eye and Single Drunk Female can be viewed in their entirety on Hulu.
via Collider