A massive hurricane is currently tearing up the ocean just off the coast of Mexico, and the surf here in Southern California is huge. Waves between fifteen and twenty feet have been common, and on Wednesday, Anne and I went down to the beach to see them for ourselves, and take a long walk along the sand.
School has just started, so there weren’t many people down there. Parking was easy, and after a quick walk across the hot sand, we got to the edge of the water. We stood there for a few minutes and watched enormous waves explode into foam, before the ocean seemed to completely flatten out into deceptively serene beauty between sets.
We walked about four miles down the sand, and another four miles back. We shared a meatball sub for lunch, and a little after 2pm, we got in the car to head home.
We were about a quarter mile from our house when my cell phone rang. I vaguely recognized the number, so I picked it.
“I have [Syfy Network Executive] for you,” a disinterested assistant said.
“Okay,” I said. The line fell silent, and I knew that my work with Syfy was over.
“How are you?” He asked me.
“I’m fine,” I said, honestly. “I just got back from a nice long walk with my wife, and it’s been a pretty great day.”
“Well, I’m about to make your day less great,” he said. Then, he told me that Syfy will not be ordering more episodes of The Wil Wheaton Project.
He assured me that it wasn’t the quality of the show. He told me again and again how much he loved it, how funny he thought it was, how much he liked me, how much he wanted to find other things to do together.
Ultimately, he told me, the executives in New York just didn’t think we had enough viewers to justify more episodes. I didn’t say anything about the total lack of promotion off the network, or point out that our ratings were on par with The Soup, or that ratings are always lower in summer than the fall. I didn’t bother saying any of that, because I know he knows that. I was reasonably confident that he made those arguments with New York when he was trying to get the show renewed. I presume he fought hard for us, but ultimately couldn’t sway executives in New York who never seemed — in my opinion — to really understand what kind of show we were doing, who I was and why I was hosting it, and how to engage with and promote to the audience who would like it.
I thanked him for the call, thanked him for the opportunity to do a show that Syfy had never tried before, and sincerely thanked him for all his creative support. He’s a good guy in an industry full of bad guys, and I genuinely enjoyed working with him. I know that he’s trying really hard to put the sci-fi back into Syfy, and if anyone can do it there (which is going to be incredibly difficult, I think), he’s the guy who can make it happen.
I hung up the phone, and told Anne that we weren’t being renewed.
“How do you feel about that?” She asked me.
“I’m really okay with it,” I said. “I’m super sad that I won’t get to work with my writers and producers, and I’m sad that we don’t get to keep writing jokes, but I did everything I could to help the show succeed. I promoted it the best way I could, I worked hard to write stuff that was funny, and I tried so, so, so hard to get the network executives in New York to understand how they could help the show succeed.
“I can only do so much, and we didn’t get a lot of promotional support. I did everything I could, and I’m proud of the work we put on the screen. On the one hand, it’s a shame that they stopped us right when the show was hitting its stride, but on the other hand, we went out with some great episodes.”
I’m disappointed that I won’t get to keep working with people I really like and respect. I’m sad that we won’t get to do more silly segments like How Will They Bite It? and Skeletor Reads Angry Tweets. I’ll miss the scarecrow most of all.
I’m grateful, though, to the people at Syfy who believed in us and gave us a chance to succeed. I’m grateful for the creative support we got, and I’m grateful that I got to spend my summer working with wonderful, talented, funny people. I grew a lot of levels in comedy writing over the last 18 weeks or so, and I owe it all to the amazing people I got to work with.
I had made a decision the day we wrapped the show, that I was going to be okay whether Syfy picked us up, or not. I can honestly say that I am really okay with where I am today. I’m looking forward to doing Tabletop and our upcoming RPG show. I’m looking forward to writing more stories, getting excited, and making more things.
Thank you to everyone who watched our show. Thank you for your kind words, and for being part of a pretty great summer.
Until next time: Play more games!
Oh, and let me just stop this before it starts: we nerds have a penchant for letter-writing campaigns and stuff to try and save shows we like. Please don’t do that here. It’s not going to happen, and we should instead put that energy into something else, like getting #butts to trend.
I’m starting a letter writing campaign to start a letter writing campaign. I’m that Meta.
I’d love to see this as an independent, perhaps Kickstarter funded project.
YES!!
I just read this today. I am at once depressed and yet not surprised. It seems as if all good things on TV never get a chance. I enjoyed the show immensely and it shall live on eternal within the ethereal electronic realm of my DVR.
My wife also enjoyed the show and she is not a fan of anything remotely geeky; TT games SciFi, Fantasy all are lost on her and yet she watched the Project with me every week and laughed. Our favorites were always Neil deGrasse Tyson High and Skeletor’s angry Rants.
Can’t wait for the new TT season and the RPG Show, Good Luck Man!!!
didn’t know that you had a show until i saw the news over the internet that it got canceled. After that I watched the whole season and I just couldn’t stop laughing out loud for the entire 20 minutes of each episode. It was really great and the more I watched the sader I got that it was canceled. Keep up the good work, hope some day I’ll see more
Dang. The network suits just weren’t ready for all of your awesomeness. I’m glad you’ll continue to find ways to share it with us, Wil. <3
Sorry to hear this, but I really respect how you’ve handled it and how you’ve asked not to have a letter-campaign. I wish you luck in future endeavors!
I am disappointed, but totally not surprised.
They thought it was a good idea to change the spelling of the name to SyFy.
They have WWE on their schedule (and that translates to Sci Fi how?).
They tried to kill FarScape (for which we hates it forever. What does it have in its pocketses?).
Etc, etc, etc.
For a channel named after Science Fiction, they really don’t get geek culture.
On to TableTop Season III!!!!!!!!
S Y F Y. That’s siffy!
I am straight-up devastated by this news! TV is really awful and your show was one of only a handful that we watch.
,sorry that you have lost a show but
there is always hope captain.
d00d, unfortunately. i’ll double-down on the lack of supports, i hadn’t even heard of TWWP until late season, and i think i’m usually pretty up on the wheaton gigs.
bad skeletor, no bone donut.
A pity. Your show was screamingly funny, and I loved discovering that Wesley has all growed up, and is a Master of Snark. Best wishes for future endeavors!
Sad face. Was hoping to see this series over the Internet as that’s where I see a lot of my programming these days, but the episodes were never posted – I don’t do cable/dish etc. as it’s not in my post-Recession (Ha!) budget. Look forward to your other projects!
Wil, thanks for the show. My son and I looked forward to watching it each week.
I found Tabletop and am watching it. Oh my word this thing is HILARIOUS. You guys are nuts in a good way. such fun.
But wrestling belongs on the SyFy channel more than Wil Wheaton! 🙂
This just hit casting breakdowns today….
[HOST] Casting a host for a scripted, weekly half hour television series for Syfy that takes a tongue-in-cheek look at topical sci-fi pop culture, television and film. All ethnicities. Looking for experienced standup comedians and performers with a strong comedy background and a penchant for all things science fiction! On-Camera TV experience a plus.
Yeah, I already knew that they’d be trying to do another version of the show. Hopefully the network will actually promote this one, and it’ll have a chance to succeed.
Gasp! Could it be? Was Wil Hardwicked! ಠ__ಠ
jk We know he luvs him some WW
This news makes me sad. My wife and I watched the show all of the time. One of the few shows we can both agree on. At least there is TableTop to look forward too.
Srsly, I’d much rather see TWWP as a Kickstarter funded web series, with no oversight by the clueless wonks at SuckFy. Oth erthan Sharknado, they haven’t made very many good decisions in the last 10 years.
Just found out, so sad, I loved that show and I believe SyFy was the wrong home for it. Internet channels are getting more and more attention, you should find a new home for it, and I’m sure it’ll keep on succeeding. Hope to see more of the Will Wheaton show soon!!!
Wil, I really enjoyed the show … so did a number of my friends. VERY sorry to hear it will not be renewed. Still, it’s not the first time SyFy cancelled a show that should have continued … and it probably won’t be the last (sigh).
Loved the show. Watched it online, coz we can’t get it in the Netherlands yet and maybe never. SyFy so sad 🙁 Hope to see more of you in the near future.
I absolutely LOVED the Wil Wheaton Project. I am a 100% disabled female veteran pushing sixty. There’s not a lot that can give me a true guffaw in life. But this show did. So much better writing than The Soup. Wil, thank you for making me belly laugh on a weekly basis. Your Skeletor was nothing short of non-stop hilarious. I wish you could be on TV sharing this gift daily. I was crushed when I came online to find out when the season would start up again… only to hear that the funniest show on Earth was cancelled. Sending so many hugs and wishes for your future success. Jessica in Las Vegas
My son (he’s 8) loved your show as much as we did! He was watching some older episodes on our Apple TV the past couple of days. It sucks knowing that there are not going to be any more.
Seriously though, contact Netflix and get them to finance your show! It will be available to a huge audience then.
Don’t forget DVDs too.
That’s … like … a sharknado of bad news!
Enjoyed your show immensely and really hope to see you on the screen again soon.
It was good working with you sir. -your stage manager
Thought the show was funny, but the setup made it seem like syfy was trying to make you into their version of Tosh.0. I find it hard to believe syfy would rather keep padding their lineup with crappy direct-to-video monster movies than renew your show. Folks at syfy seem to be out of touch with pop culture and reality.
I didn’t know where to put this, but I hope this reaches you. I just wanted to say, THANKS. I was a little down today and I always find when that happens it’s best to let someone else know how they have brought good things into your life. I felt compelled to write to you. First my wife had/has a crush on you and used to keep a picture of you in her trapper keeper. This is why she watched Star Trek, which MAY I believe have influenced her to start on a path towards math and science that lead her to a Bio-Medical Engineering degree and a career as a Perfusionist (They run the life support machines during heart/lung surgeries and transplants). In short, she helps save lives, if you had some small hand in this I think you should know it. I also want to Thank You on behalf of myself and my son. I was watching Tabletop looking for something that my 6 year old son and I could enjoy together, He started watching it with me, so watching Tabletop itself became something we shared together. I started looking for a game I would like to play. After watching your show and doing some research I realized the game I wanted hadn’t been made yet. So I started making it. It has been the most amazing creative process I have ever experienced. I am not an artist, but for the first time I felt the compulsion that an artist might. The need to create. So Thank You for your hand in that. I sincerely hope this reaches you, and that my objective in writing this was fulfilled.Namely, helping a good guy have a great day! Thank You!
I know this is an old post and I know no one ever wants to hear anything negative but I was thinking about this quite a bit and my wife just brought up the cancellation and we got to talking. If I’m being honest I felt from the start that The Wil Wheaton show, for some reason, lacked the heart and sincerity that your blogs, books, internet video chats and Tabletop have. Your love of Sci Fi and everything geek somehow never made it through the jokes. I should probably keep my opinion to myself but for a reason I can’t explain I wanted to get this opinion out there.
I am a huge fan and can’t wait for Tabletop season 3. Tabletop got me back into a hobby that I somehow let myself forget I loved. It has meant the world to me and I’m extremely grateful for that.
Thank You.
It’s been nearly a month since you posted this so I don’t know if it will get seen but I worked as an assistant editor on your show so I wanted to write to you and say Thank You!
I’ve worked on 18 television shows now and The Wil Wheaton Project was, by far, the most fun of any of them. I had the privilege of coming to work everyday and hanging out with a great group of writers, editors, and producers. I worked a lot of long hours, drank a lot of orange soda (for some reason our production company always had a fridge full of orange soda), ate a lot of shawarma (thank you, Zankou Chicken!), and laughed more than I ever have at any job.
It was also a lot of fun to watch the comedy bits improve day by day, as the editors worked on them, until they were ready to tape, and then watch you deliver them in the studio and make them even funnier.
The Skeletor bits were a lot of work, with a lot of moving parts — probably ten times more work than any of the other bits we did — and yet we were always asking, “when are we gonna do more Skeletor?”
But the best thing about working on TWWP was that, being a nerd myself (big Star Trek, roleplaying game, comic book fan) I felt like — after bouncing around from one reality show to the next — I had finally landed right where I belonged. At least for a little while.
So thanks again, Wil, no matter what comes in the future I’ll think of TWWP as a career highlight.
Warm Regards,
Dennis Castello
I recently discovered the Wil Wheaton Project. I feel robbed. I am not sure what happened to the SyFy network but their attempts to cater to more mainstream demographics is so short-sighted.
I recently found this show on the net (I don’t get sci fi.) It is a good show that I would continue watching; These are the same guys who canceled Farscape, If I remember correctly (one of my all time favorite shows.)
Its weird how all my favorite shows, that generate supposed cult followings, end up being canceled due to a “low number of viewers.”
You got Firefly’d!(another one of my all time favorite shows, “discovered” months (years?) after it was off the air.)
Stay positive, man. I’ve been a fan since I saw “Stand By Me”, in the theater as an adult. I honestly thought you were the best actor in that, “This kid will go places!” Then later I thought, “Wow, the fat kid got Rebecca Romjin(‘course, not fat anymore)?”, then later I thought “Wow, the fat kid doesn’t have Rebecca Romjin anymore?”
Its now even more known that you have the ability to carry a talk show/non-fiction/whatever you call this type of thing, show. I’ve not seen the “Tabletop”or whatever other thing people are mentioning. Hmm… I made the mistake of typing “TABLETOP” into a torrent thing, so much porn instead!
This was an original name I just came up with out of the blue, it already exists and someone else uses it on facebook and stuff; Curse you incredibly huge Internet world!
Noooooooooo! I watched every show from the first episode on the first night and looked forward to each episode more than almost anything else on TV. Wil, I chatted with you briefly at the Penny Arcade booth at San Diego Comicon earlier this summer and we talked about TWWP: I am really bummed out to hear that it is not being renewed. The show premise was great, each episode kept getting better (and it was good from the start), and the corporate suits should be ashamed of themselves. Please don’t give up. You should consider taking the show to another location, if the business aspects can be worked out. It’s strong material and there is nothing like it out there. Play more games and do more shows!
I really agree with you…your show kicked mega ass and you did a killer job. In the tradition of so many other great programs, the network totally fucked it up (see: Star Trek Enterprise). I would totally love to see you picked up on a streaming network. Even my 6 year old boy loved watching your show with me. You and Anne are the best. xo from OK
Love your stuff Wil. Can’t wait to see your next work. Whether it be behind the pencil, or behind (or in front of) the camera.