The Client List Cancelled by Lifetime

Deadline is reporting that Lifetime has officially cancelled Jennifer Love Hewitt-starring drama The Client List after two seasons. However, the reason for the show’s conclusion has nothing to do with ratings, though those did decline a bit during the second season. The decision came after Love Hewitt, an executive producer on the program that was adapted from the Lifetime movie she headlined, and the network were at odds over the direction of the third season. After becoming pregnant, she wanted Brian Hallisay, who plays Kyle on the show and who is the father of her baby in real life, to be the father of her character Riley’s third child; however, Lifetime and Sony TV wants Colin Egglesfield, who plays Kyle’s brother Evan, to be the father.

Though the drama first erupted in June, the decision comes after the network managed to launch two new hits in Devious Maids, already renewed for a second season, and Witches of East End, whose ratings went up this past Sunday. The network has already given Drop Dead Diva a sixth season after bringing the show back from cancellation and has several new projects in the pipeline, including HR starring Alicia Silverstone, so the two sides simply ran out of scheduling space and time to reach a decision. Had either side relented in the standoff as late as the past couple of months, a third season of The Client List would have been guaranteed, but once Witches of East End had a solid launch and the network held up during the extremely competitive fall period, there was no reason to keep the show around and deal with the headache of the creative differences.

Do you think that the network made the right decision in cancelling The Client List? Should Love Hewitt have relented in order to keep the show on air? Are you annoyed about the second season finale ending on a huge cliffhanger?