HBO Cancels Bill Simmons’ Sports Talk Show Any Given Wednesday

Photo by Jordan Althaus / courtesy of HBO

HBO announced on Friday that it has canceled Bill Simmons’ sports talk show Any Given Wednesday after being on the air for just over four months.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the network will still have a working relationship with the ESPN personality turned HBO host, despite the cancellation of the series, and will remain a minority investor in the Bill Simmons Media Group.

While the show provided the all-time greatest Deflategate rant courtesy of Ben Affleck, overall, Any Given Wednesday failed to find an audience. Simmons took the blame for the series’ poor performance in a statement on the cancellation.

“We loved making that show, but unfortunately it never resonated with audiences like we hoped,” Simmons said. “And that’s on me. But I love being a part of HBO’s family and look forward to innovating with them on other ambitious programming ideas over these next several years — both for the network and for digital.”

HBO had high hopes for Simmons after signing him last year. Michael Lombardo, HBO’s president for programming, said that people at the network “have been fans of Bill Simmons and his work for a very long time.”

In addition to Any Given Wednesday, Simmons is an executive producer on the Game of Thrones post-show After the Thrones.

The last episode of Any Given Wednesday airs November 9.