Ahead of a jam-packed Summer Olympics schedule, NBC has opted to cancel not one but two Peacock reality shows.
For most TV shows, getting past that first season is usually a good sign for potential staying power. According to Statista, a little over 12% of all shows on streaming services have gotten the ax in the last three years. Unfortunately for fans of two Peacock reality shows, their favorite shows are just the latest victims of the unforgiving television landscape.
First reported by Deadline, NBC has cancelled LA Fire & Rescue and Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge. Both reality shows premiered less than a year ago on Peacock. It appears that each show was cancelled in an attempt to make room for NBC’s coverage of the upcoming Paris Olympic Games, which begins on July 26. NBC will air the Olympics across its extensive family of networks.
LA Fire & Rescue Among Recently Cancelled NBC Shows
As described in an NBC press release announcing the show, LA Fire & Rescue offered “Unprecedented access to the inner workings of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.” The series featured an inside look at multiple firehouses located within Los Angeles. “Responsible for protecting the lives and property of four million residents living in 59 cities across Los Angeles County, the LACoFD’s 2,300 square miles of service is unlike any other in the United States. From helicopter mountain rescues and lifeguard beach SOS, to fireboats, hazmat units, and California’s raging wildfires, the department does it all.”
The series was the brainchild of producers Dick Wolf, Tom Thayer, Rasha Drachkovitch, and Robyn Younie. Younie also served as LA Fire & Rescue’s showrunner. In an interview with TheWrap, Drachkovitch described the process the production team went through to film the show. “We went out on over 1,000 calls, which is really a huge volume,” Drachkovitch said. “We were on the equivalent of on-call, because calls could come in 2:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m. So the crews really were set for 24/7 shifts. And we had to have a lot of things pre-set, in a sense, to never get in the way of a call. Obviously, we’re there to observe, not to become the story.”
Running Out Of Track
In partnership with Mattel Television, Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge premiered on Peacock in May 2023. According to a Mattel press release, the show offered “Superfans the chance to create the life-size Hot Wheels of their dreams and compete for the ultimate prize.” That ultimate prize? “Having their design made into an official Hot Wheels die-cast car.” The show featured a number of celebrity judges, including Anthony Anderson, Terry Crews, and Jay Leno.
In June 2023, Deadline reported that Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge became the all-time top NBC alternative series launch on Peacock. The show saw an estimated 4.8 viewers within the show’s first five days on the streaming service. Despite the recording-setting performance, NBC decided not to renew the reality competition series.
Are you surprised by either of NBC’s cancellations? Let us know in the comments section.
