“Bunheads” has been canceled. Class is over and there will be no more recitals. ABC Family pulled the plug on the series after one season in spite of its stellar starting cast and rabid fan base.

“Bunheads” was the brainchild of Amy Sherman-Palladino, the woman behind the ABC Family hit series “The Gilmore Girls,” which starred Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel (who is on her way, according to gossip, to a starring role in the upcoming “Fifty Shades of Grey”).

A spokesperson for ABC Family said,"`Bunheads’ is a wonderful series that we are very proud to have aired. The series had amazing storytelling, the most talented cast and a passionate and loyal fan base. Recognizing all of this, we took extra time to try and find ways to bring the series back for another season, but in the end it simply wasn’t possible. We wish the cast and crew the best in their future endeavors."

“Bunheads” starred Sutton Foster, a veteran Broadway performer, and Kelly Bishop, who was a dancer and starred in “Dirty Dancing” with Jerry Ohrbach and Patrick Swayze. “Bunhead” 18-episode run ended last February. ABC Family chose to delay making a decision on the show as well as their other premiere "The Lying Game" until after the premiere of its new 2013 season.

"The Fosters" which is in its first year has showed continued ratings growth with each new episode. It ranked the top scripted TV broadcast in the women 12-34 demo on Monday.

It was looking like "Bunheads" would be cancelled for a while, especially after ABC Family dropped "The Lying Game" last week. "Twisted," another new offering from ABC Family pulled in 1.6 million viewers in its series premiere. ABC Family renewed "Pretty Little Liars," which is its top show, for a fifth season and commissioned a spinoff for fall called "Ravenswood.”.

David Weigel of Slate magazine called “Bunheads” “the best show on TV.”

Alyssa Rosenberg wrote in the March issue of ThinkProgress, "Its characters have pop culture addictions that rival 'Community‘s.' It’s the unusual show about women that has good male characters ... but that hasn’t subverted its female characters to their development, creating an unusual degree of gender balance. And it’s a show that’s not afraid of real sadness, but that doesn’t need to beat up on its characters to let them fail.”

In spite of its less-than-stellar ratings, "Bunheads" inspired extreme fan loyalty and the critics loved it.

By Tony Sokol