Mike Connors found out that Mannix was cancelled from a reporter

Connors was just as shocked by the cancellation of his series as the viewers were.

CBS Television Distribution

Breakups are hard in general, but there's probably nothing worse than finding out that you're getting dumped secondhand... except maybe that you're getting dumped by your television network.

Unfortunately, that's how the cookie crumbled for Mike Connors, who had to find out that his show Mannix had been canceled, not from an agent or a network executive, but from a reporter looking to get a reaction quote.

In an interview with The Reporter, Connors said that, at the time of the show's cancellation, he was still incredibly confident in the success of the series.

"We had just finished the eighth season," Connors said. "We were still very high in the ratings."

However, the real point of contention wasn't between the series and viewers, it was between the show's network and studio.

"At that time, there was a disagreement between CBS and our studio, Paramount, over the syndication of Mannix," Connors said. "Paramount wanted to start syndicating the show right away, but CBS wanted to wait until the first run on the network was over."

The growing dispute was stressful enough that Connors began to worry about the future of Mannix, and even reached out to Fred Silverman, the head of CBS, to allay those fears.

"I asked Fred Silverman if we were in any danger of being dropped," Connors said. "And Fred said to me — and I remember his exact words — 'There is no way we're going to drop this show. We'll work it out with Paramount."

But Connors' contentment was short-lived, as he was in for a rude awakening — literally when a reporter called him to get his opinion on the cancellation of Mannix.

"He [the reporter] woke me up with the news of our cancellation," Connors said.

Luckily, Connors' career would go on after the series cancellation, and while Mannix was well-loved, his future looked bright.

Watch Mannix on MeTV!

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15 Comments

msciresi 3 months ago
The purge of rural was a big mistake across the board because it wasn’t due to lack of interest. Most of those shows were Top 10. Sadly in today’s market it’s only about money. The show doesn’t matter otherwise all of the junk reality shows wouldn’t be on the air. Things have slowly been dumbing down since the early 2000’s. Don’t even get me started on commercials.
Mannixishot 4 months ago
It's lousy having to find out that way. I have no idea what the people on Mannix would've done if they had known the series was ending ahead of time. I feel like overall the series did end on a high note. I'm sure there's some LT. Malcolm fans wanting to know if he survived after that final episode or not.
Mark 4 months ago
Along the same lines, Dick Van Patten didn't know that Eight Is Enough was canceled until he read it in the newspaper.
trogg888 4 months ago
Mannix is one of the few that still hold up and I watch on me.too bad to hear about it that way.its TV so what do you expect.
ruswilinc 4 months ago
CBS was bad about that. I've read of other CBS shows that got the same treatment. Lost in Space AND Gilligan's Island were both expecting to be renewed for fourth seasons when they were also axed during hiatus with no warning to anyone.
trogg888 ruswilinc 4 months ago
Well lost went to heck after they centered around dr.smith and his bad overacting.and as for Gilligan well nuff said
ruswilinc trogg888 4 months ago
Be that as it may, the point is the cowardly way CBS went about the cancelations. Letting actors continue to believe they still have a job waiting.
forthekids 4 months ago
Poor Mike Connors..finding out that his series:"Mannix"was cancelled from a reporter..That Stinks.
Jimboyc 4 months ago
That is a shame. Sounds like studio was a bit greedy. I can understand CBS wanting to wait till it had it's network run. The show had another 2 years at least IMO. Dog eat dog business. Still one of my favorites!
ruswilinc Jimboyc 4 months ago
That didn't stop them from syndicating Andy Griffith Show and The Lucy Show weekdays while both were still on in primetime.
JERRY6 4 months ago
Great show , never tire of watching Mannix . show ran its course went out on a high note . Better than continuing with mediocre episodes . To bad they cannot make shows like this today , would have to be PC it would be called Trannix
McGillahooala 4 months ago
Mannix is a great show. The people who run the entertainment industry are a bunch of kooks.
Runeshaper 4 months ago
It's messed up that the reporter knew of the show's cancellation before Mannix did...
cperrynaples 4 months ago
The reruns were already running on ABC! Ironically, Paramount and CBS are now BOTH the same company!
Wiseguy70005 cperrynaples 4 months ago
Paramount wanted it in syndication. Reruns on networks are not syndication. Oddly enough it only appeared briefly in syndication in my area, pre-edited on tape with the gridwork bumpers removed and an extra commercial break added. Thank goodness for DVDs.
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