TORONTO -- "Bomb Girls" has been defused.
The Global TV series about munitions workers in the Second World War is no more, according to a statement from Muse Entertainment and Back Alley Film productions.
Tuesday's release said producers were "saddened to learn that 'Bomb Girls' is not being renewed as a series for a third season."
It went on to say that a TV-movie will be produced for Global this year tying up loose ends in the storylines and resolving any cliff-hangers.
There were hints this cancellation was coming.
A message on a "Bomb Girls" Facebook page posted Monday urged people in the industry to petition Global programmers to save the series.
"ITV wants more," read the posting. "Reelz and Netflix want more but we can't do it without Global."
The series was a domestic hit for Global in its first season, topping a million viewers a week most weeks. Rival CBC network programmer Kirstine Stewart often referred to the show as another example of Canadians choosing to watch Canadian TV.
This season, however, ratings fell in the Monday night time slot.
With an overnight, estimated tally of 605,000 viewers, "Bomb Girls" finished fourth in its time slot Tues., April 15, behind "The Following" on CTV (1,339,000), "Murdoch Mysteries" on CBC (1,099,000) and "2 Broke Girls" on City (1,036,000).
The series also finished fourth in the A25-54 demo, closer to "Murdoch" but well behind time slot front runner "2 Broke Girls."
More damaging, the series was also performing poorly compared to other Global offerings the same night, despite being hammocked between "Bones" (1,541,000) and "Hawaii Five-0" (1,252,000).
A special guest appearance by Rosie O'Donnell on the April 8 episode boosted ratings, but only slightly, to 625,000 according to BBM Canada's overnight estimates.
The Toronto-based series, which premiered in January of 2012, was originally only set to air as a six-part miniseries. A second season of 12 episodes was ordered. The season, and now series finale, airs next April 29.
Having a second season air so long after the first concluded -- 11 months -- did not provide any momentum for the series.
A best actress win by Meg Tilly at the inaugural Canadian Screen Awards in February did not appear to translate into more viewers either.
Global's official spin on the cancellation?
"We are pleased to share," reads their release, "that we will be creating a 'Bomb Girls' two hour TV movie event to premiere winter 2014 which will conclude the rich storylines and the amazing journeys of these beloved characters which have strongly resonated with the show's loyal fans."
