Reception and Cancellation
The series failed to sustain ratings to survive the full season in its 9 p.m. Eastern time slot on Wednesdays. Its principal competition was another sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke Show on CBS. NBC ran television movies at the time.
Due to low ratings, ABC was considering canceling Mickey. The network was hesitant to cancel the series due to the popularity of Sammee Tong's character who had a solid fanbase thanks to his role in Bachelor Father. In his 1991 autobiography, Life Is Too Short, Mickey Rooney wrote that Tong was upset by the news that the series faced cancellation. Tong, who was a heavy gambler and owed money to the mafia, needed the money from the series to pay off his debts. On October 27, 1964, Tong took an overdose of barbiturates and died at his home. Tong's death effectively ended any chance for the series' survival and ABC canceled Mickey. The series' last episode aired on January 13, 1965.
Read more about this topic: Mickey (TV Series)
Famous quotes containing the word reception:
“He’s leaving Germany by special request of the Nazi government. First he sends a dispatch about Danzig and how 10,000 German tourists are pouring into the city every day with butterfly nets in their hands and submachine guns in their knapsacks. They warn him right then. What does he do next? Goes to a reception at von Ribbentropf’s and keeps yelling for gefilte fish!”
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)