NBC cancels five series including ‘Community’ and ‘Revolution’

So much for six seasons and a movie. On Friday NBC canceled the low-rated “Community,” a move that is sure to upset the innovative sitcom’s small but intensely devoted fan base.

It also axed the comedy “Growing Up Fisher” and the dramas “Revolution,” “Crisis” and “Believe.”

The cancellation of “Community” brings an end to nearly nonstop speculation about the fate of the show, which takes place at a community college in Colorado and has narrowly escaped death several times. Though its premiere back in 2009 attracted almost 8 million viewers, its audience has since declined to less than 3 million. For the past two seasons, NBC has ordered only 13 episodes of “Community” and bumped it to midseason, prompting fans to wage social media campaigns to save it.

In addition to its ratings woes, “Community” has also weathered internal drama, including the departure of temperamental star Chevy Chase and the firing (and eventual re-hiring) of eccentric showrunner Dan Harmon. Its renewal last year came as something of a surprise, but the show’s unusually dedicated fans may have kept it alive for another season.

When it premiered in the fall of 2012 following heavy promotion during the London Olympics, the post-apocalyptic series “Revolution” was one of the few bright spots in NBC’s troubled prime-time lineup. But after a four-month hiatus and without a powerful lead-in from “The Voice,” the show’s ratings began to decline last season and continued on a downward trajectory in its sophomore outing, hitting a low of just 3.8 million viewers this week.

NBC’s decision not to renew the rookie dramas “Crisis” and “Believe” does not come as a surprise. The midseason replacements have both fared poorly in the ratings on jampacked Sunday nights. Their fate was sealed earlier this week when NBC yanked both shows from its schedule from the final Sunday in May sweeps, replacing them with a “Saturday Night Live” clip show.

The demise of first-year comedy “Growing Up Fisher” was less certain, though not exactly a shock. The sitcom about an 11-year-old boy struggling to adjust after his free-spirited mother and blind father divorce premiered at midseason to a robust 8.9 million viewers but has seen its audience decline steadily to about 5 million.