Aired: 2014 (1 Season Totaling 13 Episodes)
Network: CW
Starring: Aimee Teegarden, Matt Lanter, Grey Damon, Malese Jow, Titus Makin Jr., Natalie Hall, Chelsea Gilligan, Greg Finley
Series Website: www.cwtv.com/shows/star-crossed
Description: When Emery was 6 years old, an alien spacecraft crash-landed in her small town. Whether they came in peace or with more sinister intentions didn’t matter: a fierce battle erupted as humans fought for control over their new rivals, an alien species called the Atrians. In the midst of the conflict, Roman, a 6-year-old Atrian boy, found his way to a shed behind Emery’s house, where she protected him from harm, bringing him food, comfort – and friendship. In their brief time together, Emery and Roman forged a deep bond, but the authorities wasted no time tracking Roman down and capturing him in a violent confrontation. Emery has grown up believing that Roman was killed that day. Ten years later, the Atrians have been acclimated to life on Earth, but they are interned in a heavily-guarded camp known as the Sector to keep them separate from humans. Now, for the first time, a group of Atrian teens will enroll in a suburban human high school, with the goal of testing the feasibility of human/alien integration. The eyes of the nation and the whole world are fixed on this historical social experiment, an endeavor fraught with suspicion and fear. In the mayhem of the first day, Emery is amazed to learn that Roman was not killed by the authorities and is, in fact, one of the Atrian students. Their childhood bond is quickly rekindled – in a school and a society that distrusts everything about the Atrians, Emery and Roman have found each other again. However, their relationship is threatened by the small-mindedness of their respective communities and the political agendas of people in power. While the world around them rages with anger and prejudice, their bond becomes increasingly strong and increasingly dangerous. As an epic Romeo and Juliet romance unfolds, a violent encounter between Roman’s father and Emery’s father occurs in the Sector. Can Roman and Emery’s love – and peace between the species – survive? CWTV.com
Why Was It Cancelled? The fifth place network is typically kinder with its shows, but seemed to have given up on this one before it began. They scheduled it as the lead-in for Mondays which have been a disaster for them for several years. It bowed to poor ratings as expected, though it at least held onto the small audience it garnered. It also developed a vocal fanbase who were (and still are) very active on the social networks. But the network chose to cancel it after its short, thirteen episode run even though its numbers were no worse than Beauty and the Beast which was renewed. An active campaign by the fans currently is trying to convince another network or one of the streaming services to pick up the show, and with its relatively low production costs it may still have a chance.
Can It Be Saved? Of all the sci fi / fantasy shows cancelled during the 2013-14 season, Star-Crossed should be the most viable candidate for saving from a financial standpoint. Coming from the fifth place network, it should have relatively low production costs. So one of the cable channels could likely afford it and it could be a decent entry for one of the streaming services like Netflix and Amazon. And it does have a devoted and vocal fanbase. The question is whether there are enough of those fans and whether a cable net or streaming service would consider them a signficant driving force to take a flier on the show. After the 2012-13 season, I though The CW’s Secret Circle would also be a good candidate for saving for the same reasons. But that show remains cancelled. A well-targeted campaign by Star-Crossed fans just might have a chance of succeeding, though.
