Amber Dowling from TV Guide Canada published an article last week where she shed some light on Global’s position on the Bomb Girls cancellation. It was reiterated that the show remains cancelled and that Global is excited enough to call the 2-hour movie an ‘event’ that is coming this winter. Barbara Williams, Senior Vice-President of Content, said at this year’s Shaw upfront presentation that they will make sure it “finishes up with a bomb”.
Most interestingly, she was asked a few perhaps rather provocative questions about the cancellation, which the TV Guide Canada article quotes as follows:
When TV Guide Canada pressed about the network’s decision to place the second half of Bomb Girls‘ second-season run against CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries — Canada’s only other dramatic, conventional TV historical romp, Williams pivoted instead to the strong Bones lead-in Global attempted to provide the show. She also reiterated several times throughout the day that its U.S. acquisitions this year were “strategic” in as to allow two new Canadian entries — a comedy and a drama — some space on the schedule this winter.
“There is not a timeslot anywhere that’s not competitive,” she responded. “The consistency of the audience watching Bones was huge and [we thought] Bones would help it. No show lasts forever.”
Williams remained equally blunt on the decision not to shift Bomb Girls to one of Shaw’s strong conventional networks, such as History, where series like Vikings and The Bible have thrived. “Budgets are different across different platforms,” she explained. “That show was designed and fit and financed for conventional customers.”
It is easy to hazard a guess that the mid-season break in February/March 2013 and the subsequent time slot change might have been an intentional strategy to get lower ratings and give Global a reason to cancel the show. Looking at their new lineup, it appears Bomb Girls didn’t fit with Global’s new business model, which is why they remained steadfast on the decision to cancel it despite the overwhelming fan response. This, however, will largely remain speculation.