Why Survivor’s Remorse Was Canceled

Survivor’s Remorse was a much better show than its overdramatic title and questionable origins suggested. 

The dramedy was the first show produced by basketball God LeBron James’ production label SpringHill Entertainment. That and the fact that it was about (what else?) a basketball player did not speak highly to its potential. A vanity project from a basketball player about a basketball player on a little-watched pay cable channel? Not great, Bob. 

But it was great, Bob!

Survivor’s Remorse was ostensibly about basketball player Cam Calloway’s journey from the streets of Boston to Generic Professional Basketball League (despite James’ involvement, the show did not have access to NBA copyrights) superstardom.

In the hands of showrunner Mike O’Malley and an excellent cast, howeve, it ended up being a funny and at times touching exploration of what it means successful Black man in America and how life is best enjoyed with friends, family, and Mike Epps (for the first two seasons at least). 

Still, Starz abruptly pulled the plug after four well-received seasons.

Why, Starz CEO and President Chris Albrecht? Why!

“We love Survivor’s Remorse, we’re very proud of the show,” Albrecht said at the Television Critics Association press tour.

“It’s difficult in premium to manage the kind of glidepaths or choices that you used to be able to. It’s pretty competitive out there, and I think the show spoke to a lot of really important issues and I’m not sure there was a lot more to say. We gave the show a real shot to kind of break out in the way you want a show to break out after the fourth season.”

So low ratings basically. In the modern TV landscape with increasingly niche viewing audiences, one would like to think there’s a way to make a low-rated show work. Still, someone’s gotta watch the show aside from a handful of critics who received screeners and were surprised to like it. 

So shame on you for not watching, we guess.