The 'Sweet/Vicious' Cancellation Is A Major Loss

The loss of a truly good show in the weekly TV line-up is tough. When that show is actually timely and meaningful, that kind of loss can be even tougher to bear. I might be speaking a bit emphatically here, but it's all in regards to The Hollywood Reporter's news that MTV's Sweet/Vicious has been canceled. It was reported that low ratings led to Sweet/Vicious' cancellation, but I truly loved this show. I believed it was a necessary one. And, not for nothing, it was really damn good.

What kills me the most is that the loss of Sweet/Vicious on MTV is that this means we will have a gap to fill where representation of young women confronting America's burgeoning rape culture is concerned. It sounds like a hefty gap to fill (and it may be), but nonetheless it's a crucial topic to tackle. As our country remains concerned with policing women's bodies, sex lives, and how we are represented in the media, Sweet/Vicious gave female viewers a cathartic outlet.

The show featured two young women literally fighting back against this rape culture. Jules, an avatar for survivors of sexual assault, and Ophelia were able to fulfill that potential desire for viewers wanting to see what it was like to fight back against your attacker. Tasked with taking down male sexual predators in the dark of night, tipped off by covert messages and warnings sent by fellow women on campus, Sweet/Vicious was able to depict how women operate in a world that was a threat. Protecting the sisterhood at all costs was the name of the game.

On Friday, April 28, Sweet/Vicious creator Jennifer Kaytin Robinson shared her feelings on the matter. "I got the news that MTV has cancelled Sweet/Vicious," Robinson wrote in a statement posted to her Twitter.

Robinson continued,

Please hear me when I say this decision should not make you feel like your story is invalid. To the survivors who have supported and loved our show, who have found comfort in the stories we told, you mean everything to me and the entire cast and crew.

She went on to thank the creative team behind Sweet/Vicious and vowed that she would continue to tell stories like the ones told on the show in the future.

Women deserve to have more stories like these on television — series where we can see young women as powerful, in charge of their own bodies and respective sexualities, and confident enough to fight for their own rights. The loss of Sweet/Vicious is immense; television would be wise to find a show that touches on these themes and greenlight it as quickly as possible.