ABC Pulls the Plug on 'The Mayor'

ABC has canceled freshman comedy The Mayor after only nine episodes.

The series was expected to return from its midseason hiatus on Jan. 9; however, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the network decided to pull the series from its Tuesday night time slot, replacing it with reruns of Modern Family. ABC has no plans to air the remaining four episodes of season one, despite ordering three additional backup scripts in December.

The Mayor was centered on Courtney Rose (Brandon Micheal Hall), an aspiring rapper who runs for public office in an effort to gain publicity. Rose ultimately wins the election and becomes an unlikely hometown hero. In an October interview with Harpers Bazaar, 24-year-old Hall spoke about the series and his hopes of inspiring younger viewers.

“One of the quotes I live by is, Tupac Shakur said in one of his interviews, in a heightened, ecstatic moment, ‘Look, I might not be able to change the world, but I will spark the brain that will change the world.’ And if I’ve done that, then I’ve done something. That’s how I feel,” he explained. “I’m not out here to try to start a movement, but I know that if a little kid watches this and sees someone who’s the same hue as him, or sees someone that’s doing something that they want to do, then I know I’ve impacted one person and that’s enough for me. I can die a happy man. Because that’s what someone did for me, and I wouldn’t be in this position now if that didn’t happen for me.”

Hamilton star and Clipping vocalist Daveed Diggs executive produced The Mayor. Lea Michele, Bernard David Jones, Marcel Spears, Yvette Nicole Brown, and David Spade co-starred in the series.