Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Deadline

‘While You Were Breeding’ Not Going Forward At Freeform, Could Be Shopped Elsewhere

Nellie Andreeva
2 min read

EXCLUSIVE: Freeform has opted not to proceed with While You Were Breeding, the upcoming Kristin Newman hourlong comedy series based on her memoir, Deadline has learned. Producers of the series, from Freeform Studios, will have the opportunity to shop it elsewhere.

The 10-episode series had wrapped production and was headed into post-production when it paused days into the WGA strike. Newman on May 13 wrote an emotional Facebook post explaining her decision to shut down post-production.

More from Deadline

Advertisement
Advertisement

As a result, While You Were Breeding, starring Chelsea Frei, missed its August premiere date. After a review of Freeform’s pipeline in the context of Disney’s companywide content spend trim and emphasis on curation, it was determined that the comedy no longer fit the linear network’s programming strategy, sources said.

This is the latest series whose fate has been impacted by the strike. Starz earlier this week made four cancellations, including a decision not to move forwards with another upcoming series, The Venery of Samantha Bird, whose production was paused in May due to the strike with two episodes left to film.

Amid programming slate reexaminations during the work stoppage there have been a slew of cancellations, including shows that had previously been greenlighted — like Showtime’s Gattaca and Seasoned and Apple/NBCU’s Metropolis — or renewed, like Prime Video’s The Peripheral and A League of Their Own and Peacock’s Pitch Perfect: Bumper In Berlin.

At Disney, in line with the company’s cost-cutting streaming content removal, Disney+ during the strike opted not to go forward with two series that had been produced, The Spiderwick Chronicles and Nautilus.

Advertisement
Advertisement

While You Were Breeding follows Kacey (Frei), single for the first time in her 30s, as she escapes her fast-paced life in Los Angeles to see the world. From culture clash to vacation romances, the comedy is a globetrotting journey of self-discovery that will inspire the wanderlust inside everyone.

Newman executive produces with Susanna Fogel and Blair Breard.

Freeform, one of the Disney cable networks whose distribution has been affected by the loss of Spectrum carriage, has Good Trouble set to return for the second half of Season 5 in early 2024. Once Grown-ish resumes production on the final half of Season 6, that show also will return.

Waiting to hear news on their futures are Cruel Summer and Praise Petey, which aired their respective seasons this summer. Additionally, the network just announced three unscripted series, Chrissy & Dave Dine Out, Royal Rules of Ohio and Sasha Reid and the Midnight Order. It has stunt programming for the rest of the year: 31 Nights of Halloween starting Sunday through the end of the month; 30 Days of Disney in November; and 25 Days of Christmas in December.

Best of Deadline

Advertisement
Advertisement

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.

Advertisement
Advertisement