“Dirty Jobs” Canceled by Discovery

As “Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe says in a blog on The Huffington Post, “it never fails.” The ratings system, that is, it never fails to take its toll. Discovery has officially canceled its once extremely popular show “Dirty Jobs.”

Though once a hit with audiences, recent seasons have seen the show take a considerable bow in the ratings, to the point where network bosses simply ruled it would make more sense to just have it call it a day.

The decision surprised Rowe, judging by his wording in the aforementioned blog post: each year, when no announcement for a new season would be made, he’d be flooded with emails from fans worried it might have been canceled.

Each year, he writes, he had the pleasure of telling them their fears were unfounded because the show would return for another season. That is, until now.

“A few weeks ago, I was officially informed that Dirty Jobs had entered into a new phase. One I like to call, ‘permanent hiatus.’ Or in the more popular industry vernacular, canceled,” Rowe writes.

“My first instinct was to immediately pass the news on to you, but frankly, it's taken me a few weeks to digest. Dirty Jobs is a very personal show, and it's difficult for me to imagine a future that does not involve exploding toilets, venomous snakes, misadventures in animal husbandry, and feces from every species,” the show’s host goes on to mention.

As cruel as the reality of the cancelation is, Rowe bows out with grace, using the announcement as a thank-you to his incredible crew and just as incredible fans, both making it possible for “Dirty Jobs” to stay on air for so many seasons.

“Nevertheless, the future is here, and while it does not appear to contain any more Dirty Jobs, it will almost certainly include another Thanksgiving. So in the spirit of the holiday, I'd like to thank those people most responsible for reinvigorating my erstwhile career, and launching the most honest show in the history of reality TV,” Rowe writes, before listing all those people to whom he feels particularly thankful.

“It was as they say, a very good run.”

Rowe’s full blog post / open letter is available here.