John Legend Warns About Right-Leaning Sinclair Group After Cancellation Of ‘Underground’

John Legend

John Legend

(AllHipHop News) The well-received historical drama Underground will not be returning to WGN America for a third season.

After the news broke, executive producer John Legend commented about the show being canceled.

“WGN America has been bought and is going a different direction strategically. We will find a new home for #Underground!” tweeted Legend. “Content wins. We’re not reliant on a particular network to make great content. We’re so proud of our show and the audience that supported!”

The Grammy-winning singer also took the time to point out the rise of the Sinclair Broadcast Group, a conservative media company that is purchasing local television stations across the country.

“Be wary of Sinclair though. They’re trying to make local stations mini Fox Newses, but more to the right,” Legend added.

Peter Kern, President and CEO of Tribune, issued the following statement about the cancellation of Underground.

John Legend echoed Kern’s hope that Underground lands on another network.

He posted, “Feel free to drop some hints to the networks/streaming services you want to pick up #Underground. Show them who will be watching!”

During its two-year run, Underground received nominations from the NAACP Image Awards and the TCA Awards.

The show also won three CableFax Awards for Best New Program, Best Historical Show/Series, and Best Showrunners.

Season one averaged around 1 million viewers per episode, but the second season slipped to about an average of 500,000 viewers per episode.

Underground told the story of the famous Underground Railroad in slavery-era Georgia.

It starred Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Aldis Hodge, Jessica De Gouw, Alano Miller, and Christopher Meloni.

“The story of the Underground Railroad is a story we hadn’t heard yet. The Underground Railroad was the first integrated civil rights movement in our nation,” said Smollett-Bell at a screening in 2016. “It was one of the first times we really rebelled. I wanted to see that story. I wanted to explore us being revolutionaries. I wanted to explore us revolting and fighting back.”

ALLHIPHOP NEWS

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