Entertainment

Sergei Bachlakov/ABC

'Imaginary Mary's Future Has Been Revealed

by Zakiya Jamal

ABC brought in a lot of new shows in the 2016-2017 season, including the new family comedy Imaginary Mary, starring Jenna Elfman as protagonist Alice and her imaginary friend Mary (voiced by Rachel Dratch). As the first season comes to a close, many fans may be wondering: will Imaginary Mary return for Season 2? Unfortunately, though unsurprisingly, the show has already been cancelled by the network.

Along with ABC's freshmen dramas Notorious, Conviction, and Time After Time, the ABC sitcom was cancelled earlier this month. Imaginary Mary's ratings throughout its first season were subpar, hence why it was most likely pulled after just one season.

If you're unfamiliar with the show, it follows Alice who ends up falling head over heels for Ben, who she's surprised to discover is the father of three kids. Alice's stress about being a parent leads to the reappearance of her childhood imaginary friend Mary. Because Mary hasn't been around since Alice was a kid, back in the '80s/'90s, a lot of Mary's references are old and she's not exactly up to date with what's going on in the world during the present day.

The show received a lot of negative reviews, as many viewers felt Mary was unnecessary and didn't actually help Alice overcome her fears of being a parent. Instead, Alice does that on her own.

The show also got a lot of comparisons to the 1991 film Drop Dead Fred, which has the same concept of a young woman being revisited by her childhood imaginary friend. It's unclear if Imaginary Mary is meant to be a remake of the film or just a reuse of the concept, but either way most critics agree the similarities are just too much to be coincidental, and not in a good way. Regardless, the show did garner some fans who found the show to be cute and funny, it just wasn't enough, unfortunately.

This obviously wasn't the best season for new shows on ABC, but that leaves the network with a lot of open space for the 2017-2018 season, which will undoubtedly get filled with a lot of new comedies and dramas. That includes new Marvel show Inhumans and new dramas The Good Doctor, Ten Days in the Valley, The Crossing, and The Gospel of Kevin. There will also be a new Shondaland series, For the People, and a new comedy, The Mayor.

Before these new shows sweep in this fall, fans can see the series finale of Imaginary Mary on Tuesday, May 30 at 9:30 p.m. ET on ABC.