Recently, news of a passionate letter from Whiskey Cavalier’s executive producer Bill Lawrence, has made rounds and been confirmed to be received by ABC’s president Karey Burke shortly after the show’s cancellation. The aforementioned note reportedly led ABC to briefly reconsider their decision to cancel the Scott Foley-Lauren Cohan led series.
Whiskey Cavalier focused on the “adventures of FBI agent Will Chase (codename: Whiskey Cavalier) who, following an emotional break-up, is assigned to work with CIA operative Francesca ‘Frankie’ Trowbridge (codename: Fiery Tribune). Together, they lead an inter-agency team of spies who periodically save the world (and each other) while navigating the rocky roads of friendship, romance and office politics.”
The series was marketed as an action comedy-drama and was created by David Hemingson. Shortly after a sneak peak during the Oscars, Whiskey Cavalier originally premiered back in late February of 2019 on the network. Due to dismal ratings and viewership, ABC subsequently cancelled the series after one season in May, which led to a fan based social media campaign titled #savewhiskeycavalier.
A few days after the cancellation news, the ABC network attempted to take a more critical “look at the feasibility of renewing the show,” eventually reaching a decision which was made just after a week of negotiations with Warner Bros. studios. “Whiskey Cavalier has been fully and finally cancelled,” showrunner David Hemingson subsequently announced.
At the time, executive producer Bill Lawrence also commented on the news:
#WhiskeyCavalier is unfortunately over. I actually did have an investment in the show and the people. I’m sad. I’m grateful for the chance.
— Bill Lawrence (@VDOOZER) May 12, 2019
In a recent interview, ABC president Karey Burke confirmed that she received “a passionate email” from Lawrence following the announcement of the disheartnning news, influencing her to reconsider the future of a possible second season. “He was just so deeply passionate about it,” the executive noted. “He put his heart and soul into it. And he just asked us to take one last look. And we really did. It was tough [to justify] financially [and] ratings-wise.We ultimately just decided to bet on the future.”
