ABC has been very busy when it comes to their network line up. While they did give the on the bubble series ‘Agent Carter’ a second chance, they made it clear that there can be only one and not all can be resurrected. With that in mind, the alphabet network has decided not to give ‘Forever’ a second season.

The procedural series about an immortal who works as a New York City medical examiner and helps the NYPD solve mysteries as well as trying to solve the mystery of his immortality was one of those little known series that had a loyal following. Competition wise, the series was up against ‘Chicago Fire’ on NBC and ‘Person of Interest’ on CBS.

While ratings weren’t entirely bad for ‘Forever,’ Deadline did state that it was a show that ABC did not own (the series was actually produced by Warner Bros.) indicating that could have been a contributing factor to its cancellation. Luckily for fans, there was some closure as series creator Matt Miller did manage to tie up some storylines from Season 1 while keeping the possibility of a second season open.

The news of the ax came to a shock to those involved. Gruffudd’s wife Alice Evans took to Twitter to announce the cancellation and convey a message on behalf of her husband:

Normally news of a cancellation would be the nail on the coffin for a series but with cable networks and online streaming outlets like Netflix, there is always hope that the show will be shopped to other outlets for one of them to hopefully pick it up.  In fact, (if you want to feel proactive), an online petition has already been started asking Warner Bros. TV to do just that and explore other options to keep the show alive. At the time of this writing, the petition has garnered over 8,000 signatures in less than 3 days.

While the future of ‘Forever’ may seem bleak, and until we hear otherwise, there is still a glimmer of hope. We do, however, have this heartfelt message from Gruffud that he posted on his Instagram account thanking fans and all those who made his dream job possible:

My dear friends, fans, supporters. Tonight, as you all now know, I received a phone call that I was hoping not to receive, and to be honest I really wasn’t expecting it. I knew the numbers hadn’t been great, but I also knew the studio and the network both loved the show, and of course that it had an incredible fan base…so I thought we were in with a pretty good chance. But sadly no, this time the cards weren’t dealt in our favor. Show business is like that. Hell, life is like that. You ride to the top of the wave and then you come crashing down again. I asked Alice to send out the sad news because I was a little bit shaken up and needed time to gather my thoughts. So I sat down and started reading the thousands of Tweets in response to the announcement. And the more I read, the more I couldn’t believe it. The love, the sense of solidarity, the hope, the kindness, the support. Not just for the show, but for each other. And slowly I began to focus on what we had gained in the past year, rather than what we had lost in the last five minutes. I was overcome by a sense of gratitude. To have met you all and to have you all rooting for me and the show. At having a chance to play the role of my dreams, even if it was only for a year. To have been given the chance to bring Henry to life. Watching the interaction of the FOREVER fans come together and share their love for the show has been breath-taking. It was you guys who held me up when I thought I could no longer go on. (Those days were LONG!) You made me smile when you pointed out the little things I did on screen that I thought had gone unnoticed. You gave me confidence when I accidentally found myself reading less than shining reviews. You were always with me, every step of the way, waving your flags, shouting your support for the show. It’s been an incredible, wonderful year, one that I will never, ever forget. And guess what? The memories belong to us. We get to keep them ‘forever!’ Thanks again a million times for your unwavering support. Stay strong, be brave, and show kindness as often as you can! Ioan xxx

A photo posted by Ioan Gruffudd (@ioangruffudd) on