Animal Practice canceled by NBC; last episode Oct. 24

Veterinarians who hate the new NBC show Animal Practice can rejoice—Dr. George Coleman and Crystal the Monkey are hanging up their lab coats for good.

After much speculation and very low ratings, NBC announced it’s canceling Animal Practice, a comedy about a chaotic and unrealistic veterinary practice in New York City, after only five episodes. The show didn’t get off to the best start—NBC cut the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony short to air the pilot, which included turtle races in the break room and a python nearly strangling a doctor. The show officially aired on Sept. 26 and while many veterinarians were hoping for an entertaining outlet for their profession, they weren’t holding their breath.

One DVM Newsmagazine reader wrote on our Community message board:

"I'll probably watch the first show but I'm not expecting anything more than a demeaning portrait of a silly person in a white coat who doesn’t deserve the respect of the public for the highly skilled professionals veterinarians are."

New episodes of Animal Practice will continue to air on NBC on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central until it’s replaced with the second season of Whitney on Nov. 14.