The Big Picture
- The CW has pulled the Zac Efron-led travel series Down to Earth after only two episodes, as part of their ongoing rebranding efforts.
- The decision to cancel the show was based on low viewership, not the controversial pseudoscience presented in the series.
- The network will now air reruns of Penn & Teller: Fool Us and Whose Line Is It Anyway? instead, possibly due to their reliability as time-fillers.
Down to Earth is now six feet under the earth. The CW has just pulled the Zac Efron-led travel series after only two episodes, the latest in a series of cancelations by the network, which seems intent on recreating its image. Along with Efron's Down to Earth, The CW also recently canceled the series Fantastic Friends, which starred Harry Potter alums James and Oliver Phelps.
In Efron's place, The CW will instead air reruns of Penn & Teller: Fool Us and Whose Line Is It Anyway?, which will fill in the Tuesday night slot starting on August 1. Down to Earth With Zac Efron originally premiered on Netflix in 2020, with a second season premiering in 2022. The series follows Efron as he travels the globe, and explores nature and sustainable living practices. The series has been met with broadly positive reviews, but some have taken issue with some questionable science behind some of the lifestyles espoused by the series.
An Uneasy Transition from Netflix to The CW
However, the series was not canceled for its pseudoscience leanings. Instead, it seems that the viewership simply wasn't there for the show on linear television. The series debuted on The CW on July 18 and drew in a total of 306,000 total viewers. Its second episode saw a 24% drop in viewership, bringing in only 232,000 viewers. With numbers like that, it might be best to just fire up the reliable time-filler that is Whose Line is it Anyway?. Regardless, it seems the series was trailing behind other summer programming such as Nancy Drew and Children Ruin Everything.
down to earth
It also might just be a matter of poor timing for the series. The CW has been quick at the trigger when it comes to cancelations in recent months. The Supernatural prequel The Winchesters was recently canceled by the network after only one season, one of many surprising cancelations by the network. The network is in the midst of a major rebranding. The network, which is owned by Nexstar, is actively moving away from scripted series in a major rebranding move that seems downright ominous in the face of the ongoing WGA strike. However, this shift does not seem to be at the core of The CW's cancelation of Down to Earth, which was perhaps simply better suited for streaming.
You can still stream Seasons 1 and 2 of Down to Earth on Netflix. And you can check out a new first look at Efron's newest project, The Iron Claw, here.
