Ah, the ruthless machine that is the U.S. television industry. It's ruthless, but it's fun to watch sometimes - especially when the executives get it so, so wrong. This week, Fox cut ties with several series that is desperately hoped would be the next Big Bang Theory, Breaking Bad, etc, etc. 

Seth GreenSeth Green's 'Dads' Has Been Cancelled

In fact, of the network's freshman comedies for 2013-2014, only the excellent Brooklyn Nine-Nine survived the cull. Gone is Enlisted. Gone is Surviving Jack. Gone is Greg Kinnear's Rake. Oh, and it's also good riddance to the relentlessly bad 'Dads', which starred Seth Green and Giovani Ribisi.

There had been some talk that 'Dads' might get a reprieve and from Fox's perspective, it wouldn't have been the worst idea. Despite being mauled by critics, it's performed well and even better than several of the renewed comedies and it comes from sister studio 20th TV, and producer Seth MacFarlane. 

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Upon its debut, the half-hour comedy was dubbed racist and inappropriate and Fox president Kevin Reilly told press not to judge the show so early.

"The thing about 'Dads' that I really ask you to put in context. That's a pilot.You know the lineage of these writers. They come out of 'Family Guy.' They are the best writers. These guys are going to try to test a lot of boundaries. They are going to try to be equal-opportunity offenders."

The reviews were awful.

"What makes 'Dads' so deeply and fundamentally racist is that it is MacFarlane's entitlement fantasy, in which the only castmembers of color are women who exist to serve and service the spoiled little boys' club at the show's core," said the Wall Street Journal.

"The truth is, viewers who celebrate MacFarlane as well as those who revile him should be equally dismayed by 'Dads.' It's just a mediocre multi-camera sitcom, complete with formula humor and unearned laughtrack," said the Huffington Post.

"In the case of 'Dads,' the pilot is terrible ... Not only is the show not funny, it has heavily racist overtones for Asians ... There's a stink to it. It's multi-camera on a network that doesn't really do multi-cams. The laugh track is annoying," said the Hollywood Reporter. 

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So it's goodbye for Dads, but Fox has also passed on a couple of comedy pilots that it green-lit. The network has passed on Dead Boss, with Jane Krakowski and No Place Like Home, with Jane Kaczmarek. However, Fox is still in talks to pick up Sober Companion - an interesting looking Justin Long project, and Cabot College, with Margaret Cho.

Fox has already bulked out its drama offerings, ordering the excellent looking Batman prequel 'Gotham' as well as picking up hip-hop drama 'Empire'.