Friday, May 04, 2018
Fri-Yay: Sitcom Renewal Chances: The Status Before Upfronts
by Vincent
It's officially May, which tends to be a nausea-inducing time for TV fans: Upfronts. Upfronts is when networks have to make the final decision on their schedules for the next TV season, which usually means a slew of renewal and cancellation news across the board - particularly for network television. Many shows have already been renewed, but there are still many sitcoms whose fates have yet to be determined that will surely be hearing the final news on whether they're a go for next season over the next few weeks. Last year's Upfronts were particularly brutal, with veteran series like 2 Broke Girls and Last Man Standing shockingly getting the boot at the very last minute. Just a note: Upfronts begin on May 13, so the final news on all network TV shows' statuses for the 2018-2019 season have to be finalized in the next few weeks. In this blog post, I'll write a bit about each "on the bubble" sitcom's chances and give my final prediction.
This post will be focusing on network sitcoms only, since cable economics work out a bit differently and don't adhere to the same schedule or financial decisions as network TV.
Fresh Off the Boat (ABC): Fresh Off the Boat seems to be an 11th hour renewal every year, despite the fact that it has consistently solid ratings and a lot of critical acclaim. While Fresh has never quite taken off the way some ABC staples like Modern Family or The Goldbergs have, it's a decent tent-pole and I would be surprised if ABC parted ways with it. Renewed
Speechless (ABC): Similar to Fresh Off the Boat, Speechless is a consistent "good not great" ratings player. That's the type of show that is often prone to a surprise cancellation (see: 2 Broke Girls and Last Man Standing last year), but unlike those shows, Speechless is young (meaning less expensive) and still feels like a valuable part of a strong night of comedy. Renewed
black-ish (ABC): black-ish transitioned from lead-out to anchor this year, and its ratings have mostly held up fairly decently - and blossomed after Roseanne's return provided a boost to ABC's entire Tuesday line-up. On the brink of being syndicated and with a spin-off chugging along on Freeform, I see no reason to let this one go. Renewed
American Housewife (ABC): American Housewife is one of those shows you never seem to hear anyone talk about but manages to consistently outperform almost all of the shows that you do. It gets help from its Modern Family lead-in, but overall this show is looking like a very solid player and will surely be back next year. Renewed
Superior Donuts (CBS): CBS's once dominant Monday line-up is in some trouble. All of the series tend to rate marginally at best, and with Big Bang ending the network is in search for a replacement other than its own spin-off Young Sheldon. That show is not Superior Donuts, which adopted the 9PM Monday slot that powerhouses like Everybody Loves Raymond and Two and a Half Men once occupied and saw it consistently in 4th place ahead of only The CW. Cancelled
Man with a Plan (CBS): Man with a Plan is far from the huge hit CBS wanted it to be last year, but it does consistently OK and is not the network's biggest problem in the comedy department. It will likely squeak by for at least one more year until CBS can find some decent Monday anchors. Renewed
Kevin Can Wait (CBS): This show has essentially become a King of Queens reboot, which sort of shows how desperate CBS is to bring back its old Monday night line-ups. It's the best-rated show of a disappointing night, which is good enough for another year. Renewed
Life in Pieces (CBS): Life in Pieces has always felt like an odd outlier on CBS's line-up, a high-concept single-camera comedy amidst a sea of traditional multi-camera sitcoms (or spin-offs of those sitcoms, in the case of Young Sheldon). Its ratings sort of reflect that, as it sheds off most of the Big Bang Theory/Young Sheldon audience the night begins with, but that audience is so huge it still looks pretty good. Renewed
Great News (NBC): Tina Fey-penned Great News pulled in truly miserable ratings over the course of the two seasons it has aired thus far, even managing to shed most of Will & Grace's initially huge audience when it was placed in the 9:30 lead-out slot. That said, NBC's other freshman comedies somehow managed to perform similarly awful or even worse, so Great News still sits in May, four months after its finale aired, with a fighting chance for renewal. Still, my guess is NBC doesn't take a chance at another miserably-rated season. Cancelled
AP Bio (NBC): AP Bio had a lot of initial hype and a cushy post-Olympics launch, but has not managed to capitalize on it, shedding most of Superstore's audience and falling far below The Good Place's season average. If NBC renews any freshman comedy, I'd place bets on this one (its ratings are somewhat less terrible than Great News and Champions) but I'm guessing NBC cleans house with its freshman comedies. Cancelled
Champions (NBC): In NBC's already bad freshman comedy situation, Champions has emerged as the worst aspect of it, and has absolutely zero shot at a renewal. Cancelled
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox): Brooklyn Nine-Nine started off the year terribly, earning series low after series low and falling into "this needs to be cancelled" territory. After a last-minute move to Sundays upon its return this spring, its ratings have shaped up a bit. That, in addition to its dedicated fans starting a bit of an internet rallying call, might be enough to get it to one more year, at least on some format. Renewed (but potentially moves networks to a streaming service)
The Mick (Fox): After a surprisingly strong start last year, The Mick's ratings fell considerably this season, but Fox's comedy situation is likely dire enough that it will survive another year to pad out the line-up. Renewed
The Last Man on Earth (Fox): Last Man's ratings have looked really ugly this spring after years of consistently decent (if not great) numbers. Still, like The Mick, Fox will have enough holes that it likely survives - the only thing it has to worry about is if Fox cuts back comedy hours next season. Still, going with...Renewed
LA to Vegas (Fox): These low-rated Fox shows are sort of all in a similar place to me - I could see any of them surviving but could also see all of them being cut if Fox downsizes its comedy hours. Still, as a low-rated rookie, this show seems like the most likely to go first. Cancelled
Ghosted (Fox): See LA to Vegas, except Fox actually pulled this before it finished out its season, so it seems even less likely to return. Cancelled
There's my prediction on these sitcoms' fates. In two weeks I'll check back to see how I did!
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, March 19
Shifting Gears - "Kiss" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Jimmy returns with a new job and a proposition for Riley and the kids to move into his house, Riley is torn between her past and her future. Meanwhile, Matt's feud with Eve flares up once again after she damages his car.
Abbott Elementary - "Audit" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Ava and the teachers must band together to hide the golf-course contraband.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 17)
Wednesday, March 19
- Lauren Graham (The Z-Suite/M.Y.O.B./Conrad Bloom/Townies/Good Company) - Watch Lauren on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Danielle Brooks (Close Enough) - Danielle appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Eva Longoria (Only Murders in the Building/Telenovela) - Eva is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Dove Cameron (Schmigadoon!/Liv and Maddie) - Dove appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Drew Barrymore (Santa Clarita Diet) - Drew is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Paula Pell (Girls5eva/Mapleworth Murders/A.P. Bio) - Paula appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Danny Pudi (Going Dutch/Mythic Quest/Powerless/Community), Jessie Ennis (Mythic Quest) and Ashly Burch (Final Space) - Danny, Jessie and Ashly are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Anthony Carrigan (Barry) - Anthony appears on Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen), Ben Stiller (Arrested Development) and Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) - Nick, Ben and Quinta are guests on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney at 10pm on Netflix.
- Tyler Lepley (Harlem) - Tyler talks about Tyler Perry’s Duplicity on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- John Leguizamo (The Brothers Garcia) - John talks about Bob Trevino Likes It on ABC News Live Prime at 7pm.
- Daniel Stern (Shrill/Danny/Dilert/The Wonder Years) - Daniel talks about Home and Alone on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney appears on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Annaleigh Ashford (B Positive) - Annaleigh talks about Happy Face on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
- Dennis Quaid (Merry Happy Whatever) - NBC's Today catches up with Dennis in the 9am hour.
- Stanley Tucci (Central Park) - Stanley is joining Drew and telling her about why he hates when people wear sweatpants and his 2025 goal of cleaning less on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Jessica Hecht (Red Oaks/What About Joan?/The Single Guy) - Jessica is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.
- Drew Sidora (Mind Your Business/The Game/That's So Raven) - Drew appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:30am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
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12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
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