ABC cancelled Marvel’s Inhumans after one eight-episode season because the show’s audience performance fell short of the network’s expectations. ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey publicly described the numbers as disappointing before the cancellation was announced in May 2018. The series ran from September 29 to November 10, 2017, so the decision came roughly six months after its finale.
ABC’s stated reason: the show underperformed
The clearest public explanation came from then-ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey. In January 2018, she said Inhumans “didn’t perform for us at the level that we would’ve wanted” and that its numbers were less exciting than hoped (ComicBook.com, January 8, 2018). She described the series as a big swing that did not land with the impact the network wanted (TV Guide, January 10, 2018).
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Those comments preceded ABC’s cancellation announcement, reported on May 11, 2018 (ComicBook.com). The public record supports a straightforward conclusion: ABC did not believe the show’s performance justified another season. It does not reveal the full private deliberations behind the decision.
How quickly was it cancelled?
Inhumans had a single eight-episode ABC run, from September 29 through November 10, 2017, according to D23. ABC’s cancellation was reported in May 2018, about six months after the finale. “Quickly” describes the short life of the series and the choice not to continue it—not a cancellation announced while the first season was still airing.
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What the audience figures do—and don’t—show
Coverage reported different audience figures in different contexts. They should not be merged into a single definitive rating: the sources describe different measures and reporting windows.
| Measure | Reported figure | Source and context |
|---|---|---|
| Premiere audience | 3.8 million viewers | TVLine’s 2023 retrospective, referring to the ABC premiere (TVLine) |
| Average across the eight-episode ABC run | 2.6 million viewers | TVLine’s 2023 retrospective (TVLine) |
| Audience figure cited in January 2018 coverage | 4.1 million viewers; 1.2 key-demographic rating | ComicBook.com’s report on Dungey’s January comments (ComicBook.com) |
| Audience figure in the cancellation report | 4 million total viewers; 1.2 key-demographic average | ComicBook.com’s May 2018 cancellation report (ComicBook.com) |
| Opening weekend for the IMAX two-episode edit | $1.1 million | TVLine’s 2023 retrospective (TVLine) |
The consistent signal is that ABC was dissatisfied with the show’s results. The figures above are not interchangeable: a premiere audience, a season average, a demographic rating and theatrical box office measure different things.
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Where IMAX fit into the show’s launch
Before its weekly ABC broadcast, a version of the first two episodes screened globally in IMAX theaters for two weeks beginning in September 2017. Marvel and Disney|ABC described the arrangement as a first for a live-action television series and said the show was filmed with IMAX digital cameras (Marvel’s announcement). The theatrical preview was an unusual launch strategy, but the available public accounts do not establish it as an independent cause of the cancellation.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Did bad reviews or the abandoned movie plan cause the cancellation?
Poor critical reception was part of the show’s broader context, alongside its reported audience performance. But ABC’s public explanation emphasized the numbers; the cited coverage does not show that reviews alone determined the decision.
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Inhumans also had a complicated path to television after an earlier feature-film plan was abandoned. A 2023 TVLine retrospective, drawing on MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, discusses that production history (TVLine). That background helps explain how the series came about, but it does not prove that the scrapped movie plan or corporate politics caused ABC to cancel it.
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