Discovery ChannelAmerican Guns is no more.
Discovery Channel confirmed today that the reality show about a Colorado family in the gun business will not be back for a third season. The show's second-season finale had aired Sept. 5.
"American Guns concluded earlier this year," the network said in a statement. "Discovery Channel chose not to renew the series and has no plans to air repeats of the show."
The network did not say, however, whether the decision not to produce any more episodes of the successful show (season two premiere ratings were up 50 percent over season one) was directly linked to the shooting deaths of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., last week—a tragedy that has once again brought gun violence and gun control to the forefront of the national conversation.
Reactions from the Twitteverse were mixed, with some applauding Discovery's decision (regardless of its stated M.O., or lack thereof) and others disappointed by the cancellation of what they thought was an entertaining series.
"Is it bad that the largest concern I have with American guns being cancelled is that i can't see paige wyatt anymore?" wrote one fan. "I liked this show, great gunsmith made amazing & pretty guns," wrote another.
"We already knew Discovery and History Channels banned gun advertising... now they're running for cover... not..." chimed in one critic.
"Well, it's a start," tweeted a fan of the cancellation. A number of people had also left complaints on the show's Facebook page in the wake of Friday's shooting.
On Saturday, Paige Wyatt posted on her own Facebook page a screen grab of a tweet sent to her Saturday, reading, "@PaigeWyatt Sickening to zap into American Guns right after the #Newtown shooting. Are you aware that you are encouraging this culture?"
"A tweet I got from some guy who obviously needs to be educated! #aggrivating #dumb#gunsdontkillpeoplepeople," Paige tweeted in response.
American Guns star Kurt Wyatt, a firearms instructor and stepson of Gunsmoke Guns owner and founder Rich Wyatt, had not yet responded to a tweet from @FansofAmGuns asking if the show was really canceled.
If A did in fact lead directly to B, American Guns would be the first entire series to be axed in response to Sandy Hook.
Syfy didn't air Friday's planned episode of Haven featuring violence at a high school and TLC postponed the premiere of Best Funeral Ever from Dec. 26 until Jan. 6.
Fox yanked Family Guy and American Dad from its schedule Sunday night; only the latter featured gun violence, but, according to Deadline.com, the former poked fun at religion in a way that the network found inappropriate in light of the tragedy. That episode of Family Guy will air this Sunday, but American Dad and Haven remain on hold.