Once again, Disney had a surprise for the Hispanic market this week when they announced (just in time for the upfront) that GLo. would not be returning for an 8th season. And the high profile Hispanic sitcom star is not sitting around and laughing about it.

“TV just became really, really white again,” George Lopez told the Los Angeles Times.

Tuesday, ABC President Steve McPherson announced that the network’s fall schedule would no longer be home to “The George Lopez Show,” a G-rated family show starring the stand-up comedian as “a guy who has made lemonade from lemons at every turn.” Four new sitcoms are on the horizon at ABC, including “Cavemen,” inspired by the Geico insurance spokes-Neanderthal.

“We’re heading into the new season with a strong lineup of returning shows that we’ve developed and nurtured over the past few years,” McPherson said in a release. “… We’re dedicated to working hard week after week to deliver the best stories and most memorable characters on TV.” Ratings and cost have been cited in the decision to axe “The George Lopez Show,” which is produced by Warner Bros. Television.

Lopez, a 46-year-old Mexican-American, eluded to the fact that economics and race were responsible for ABC’s move and noted that two surviving sitcoms pulled in lower ratings than his.

“I get kicked out for a f******* caveman and shows that I out-performed because I’m not owned by [ABC Television Studios]…So a f******* Chicano can’t be on TV but a f******* caveman can?” Mr. Lopez was quoted in the Los Angeles Times story. “And a Chicano with an audience already? You know when you get in this that shows do not last forever, but this was an important show and to go unceremoniously like this hurts. One hundred seventy people lost their jobs.”

Rumblings of the show’s cancellation ran a muck last season, but managed to hold on for one more. “The George Lopez Show” was the third sitcom ever built around a Hispanic lead character [long-running “I Love Lucy” co-stared Desi Arnaz] and was syndicated the longest.

So, what will the Hispanic market do without its most recent crossover golden boy? I’m not sure, but I’m sure we have not seen the last of George Lopez or Hispanic leads in a sitcom. However, ABC will have a political firestorm with this, once that Neanderthals show airs. It also seems that George will play the race card and will not do so quietly.

Personally…there is no love loss for me over the show. It was definitely not appointment television. However, I hate to see a Latino go when they have such a powerful platform to communicate the realities of Latinos in the U.S. It is sad to see the rise and fall of Latino in a non-Latino world. Despite the fact that the program is not reflective of me personally, I believe that the program served its purpose and the Latino market by creating role models for the future G.Los.

Thank God for Ugly Betty.

- Written by Miamiadguy