Though many broadcast network shows have already been well aware of their futures (good or bad) for months now, CBS' crime drama Instinct only recently received word from the network that the currently airing Season 2 would be its final one. Instinct was something of a bubble show, but its cancellation was still a blow for all involved. Star Alan Cumming did not immediately go public with a reaction to the cancellation, though has has since released a statement on social media.
Taking to Instagram, Alan Cumming shared his heartfelt appreciation to some of those involved. In his words:
So the word is out. @instinctcbs will not be returning for a third season. Almost exactly three years ago I was sent a galley copy of a book by @jamespattersonbooks and @howardroughan and then I met the showrunner [Michael Rauch] who was to adapt it for TV and I jumped in. And I’m still in, for two more episodes tomorrow and the last one ever next Sunday. And while I’m sorry I won’t be getting to play with @bojnovak and the rest of the amazing cast and crew again, I’m grateful for two seasons of fun and gore and feeling like a dandy thanks to @danlawsonstyle’s costumes, and selfies with corpses and vegan options at catering and Lala’s occasional guest appearances in the police station when she got bored in her basket beneath my desk.
Now it feels like a major whiff of a missed opportunity for CBS not to release an Instinct coffee table book filled with Alan Cumming's selfies taken with prosthetic corpses. Especially if he's a dress-to-the-nines Dapper Dan alongside the bodies.
Alan Cumming sounds genuinely thankful for having gotten the chance to portray Dr. Dylan Reinhart on a weekly basis alongside co-star Bojana Novakovic. He'll definitely be missing her now that their time together on Instinct is completely finished. At least as far as filming goes, since there are a couple more episodes still left to air.
Take note that whenever Instinct wraps things up later this month, it will end a poignant distinction that makes the CBS drama as historically significant as anything else currently airing. Namely, that Alan Cumming's Reinhart was gay. Here's how the actor addressed that side of things.
I’m also proud to have played the first ever leading character in a US network drama who is gay. Yes, really. Because of @instinctcbs, millions of people will have seen a same sex marriage portrayed for the first time and I hope we changed and opened some minds in the process.
While shows like the exiting Will & Grace do prominently feature gay characters as leads, that NBC offering is obviously a comedy, as are many others. Dramas are clearly a bigger challenge for creators to include gay regulars, but Instinct didn't seem to have a problem making it work.
Perhaps some of the minds that were potentially changed by Instinct will be involved in creating new TV shows in the future. Perhaps every new broadcast comedy and drama in the 2020 world will feature at least one gay lead character. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.
You can take a look at Alan Cumming's post itself below.
Thankfully for Alan Cumming's biggest fans, the actor had somewhat recently signed on for a new project, the upcoming USA drama Briarpatch, which also stars Rosario Dawson and Ed Asner. The series centers on a small town whose secrets get revealed while a murder is investigated. Cumming will be playing an arms dealer in Briarpatch, so don't expect this character to share a lot of the same dialogue with Dr. Reinhart.
Alan Cumming's Instinct will air its final episode on Sunday, August 25, at 9:00 p.m. ET.
