ABC Cancels Portland-Set “Stumptown” Despite Initially Renewing It

Stumptown? More like Bumpedtown.

The action-comedy series—which is set in Portland but filmed in Los Angeles, and based on a graphic novel series released by local publisher Oni Press—has been canceled by ABC after one season, despite good reviews and decent ratings.

Related: A Gritty, Portland-Based Comic Series Is Being Adapted Into a Television Pilot for ABC.

The cancellation is especially surprising given the show was initially renewed in May.

According to Deadline, the change of heart is partly related to the coronavirus: Due to pandemic-related production delays, Season 2 would not premiere until the end of the broadcast season in April.

"Additionally," writes Deadline, "with elaborate stunts, extensive location shoots and romance, Stumptown is the type of series most impacted by COVID-related restrictions, limiting the kind of scenes the show could do and leading to significant budget increases."

Stumptown starred How I Met Your Mother star Cobie Smulders as an Army vet-turned-private eye named Dex Parios. While not shot in Portland, it featured frequent references to city landmarks both real and vaguely fictionalized—plus a lot of Timbers and Blazers gear.

Deadline reports ABC Signature, the studio that produced Stumptown, will try to find a new network to air the show.

Whatever happens, we'll always have it to thank for CJ McCollum's acting debut: