There’s no stability in the television programming world, as evidenced by the drama “Combat Hospital,” which was riding high when it debuted this past June and had a number-one slot in the ratings but has now been cancelled.
Both Global in Canada and ABC in the States have given the once-popular and now-defunct program the axe.
The show starred Montrealer Elias Koteas (“Shutter Island” and the TV series “Lights Out”), Michelle Borth (“Hawaii Five-O”), Luke Mably (“The Gates,”), and Terry Chen (“Sanctuary”). “Combat Hospital” profiled fictional medical teams from Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. who are in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in a war-torn Afghanistan hospital. It was drawing in millions of viewers last summer during its premiere season, oftentimes more fans than other Canadian hit shows were receiving, like “Rookie Blue” and “Flashpoint.” The season 1 finale took place in September, and the following month, to the surprise of many “Combat” fans, ABC announced that it would not be renewing the show. However, Shaw Media is rerunning the show on Showcase and Showcase Diva if you didn’t get a chance to check it out.
The news that “Combat Hospital” had been cancelled came last Tuesday on an Air Farce New Year’s Day special when star Arnold Pinnock (“The Listener”) confirmed the cancellation on the set. According to an article on the blog TV Feeds My Family, the cast of the show only found out about the bad news a few short weeks ago.
Critics are speculating that this may be the highest-rated Canadian-born show to have gotten the boot.
