Castle, The Muppets and Nashville among US TV cancellations

Halsey - Castle (The Huntsman: Winter’s War Version) (Audio)
Image copyright AP/Getty/Getty Image caption Castle"s Nathan Fillion, The Muppets, and Nashville"s Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere

Castle, The Muppets and Nashville are among the shows that have been cancelled in a cull by US TV networks.

The cancellation of Castle after eight seasons follows the departure of one of the main cast members, Stana Katic.

Country music-themed soap Nashville will come to an end later this month after four seasons on ABC.

The network also dropped The Muppets, the series set behind the scenes of Miss Piggy"s TV talk show, after only one season due to poor ratings.

Other TV cancellations that have been announced include The Family, The Grinder and Bordertown.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Agent Carter, starring Hayley Atwell, has been dropped by ABC after two seasons

The Marvel-produced series Agent Carter, a spin-off to Captain America has also been dropped after two seasons.

The show, which starred British actress Hayley Atwell in the title role, gathered a devoted fan following but did not achieve ratings success in the US.

ABC also announced that it wouldn"t be proceeding with a planned production of Marvel"s Most Wanted - a spin-off to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

CBS announced the cancellation of CSI: Cyber, the network"s last remaining CSI series.

Image copyright Frazer Harrison Image caption The Grinder star Rob Lowe defended the show on Twitter after its cancellation, describing it as "unapologetically original"

It"s likely further shows will be dropped by networks in the coming days, in an annual clean-up of schedules as networks make way for new shows.

The five major US broadcast channels will pitch pilot episodes for up to 100 new shows to advertisers later this month.

Successful shows will then have full seasons commissioned, which will begin in the autumn.

Castle tells the story of mystery novelist Richard Castle, who begins working with the police after a copycat murder based on one of his novels is committed.

Andrew W Marlowe, the show"s creator, said: "To the whole Castle family - our amazing cast, our remarkable crew, our imaginative writers and our wonderful fans, thank you for eight amazing years."

Hayden Panettiere and Connie Britton play two rival country singers in musical drama Nashville, the final episode of which will air in the US later this month.

Creator Callie Khouri tweeted: "With a heavy heart, I thank all our incredible fans for all of your love, huge thanks to the city of Nashville. See you on down the road."

Rob Lowe, who starred in The Grinder, said the show was "unapologetically original, smart, funny and had a murderer"s row of talent.

"The great news is, that film is forever. And I"m thrilled to have 22 episodes that were as acclaimed as they were. Time well spent," he added.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-36278986