CBS Renew/Cancel Watch: 'Life in Pieces' Likely to be Renewed (Repost)

Welcome to the CBS Renew/Cancel Watch. All scripted, primetime shows are included in the prediction table below once they have premiered for the season. An analysis of any new prediction changes follows. My current predictions are as of January 10, 2015.

The key to the right indicates which colors are associated with each prediction. The data in the table includes season lows, highs, and averages (Adults 18-49 demo), as well as the year-to-year changes for returning shows that have not already been officially renewed or canceled. These are provided for reasoning with and understanding my predictions. The shows are ordered by their season averages against only other scripted CBS shows.

Rank	Show Title	Season Low / High /Average	Y2Y Change
1	The Big Bang Theory	--	--
2	NCIS	2.1 / 2.7 / 2.26	-5.8%
3	Life in Pieces	1.8 / 2.6 / 2.01	--
4	Supergirl	1.5 / 3.1 / 1.86	--
5	Scorpion	1.7 / 2.2 / 1.83	-20.4%
6	NCIS: New Orleans	1.5 / 2.5 / 1.74	-17.1%
7	Criminal Minds	1.5 / 2.0 / 1.67	-33.2%
8	2 Broke Girls	1.5 / 1.7 / 1.62	-19.0%
9	Mom	1.5 / 1.8 / 1.66	-27.8%
10	Mike & Molly	- / 1.60 / 1.60	-17.9%
11	Angel from Hell	- / 1.60 / 1.60	--
12	Limitless	1.3 / 1.9 / 1.51	--
13	NCIS: LA	1.1 / 1.6 / 1.29	-21.3%
14	Madam Secretary	1.1 / 1.5 / 1.29	-10.4%
15	Code Black	1.1 / 1.5 / 1.28	--
16	Blue Bloods	1.1 / 1.4 / 1.20	-7.7%
17	Hawaii Five-0	1.0 / 1.3 / 1.08	-10.0%
18	The Good Wife	0.9 / 1.2 / 1.06	-11.7%
19	Elementary	0.8 / 1.2 / 1.00	-23.1%
20	CSI: Cyber	0.7 / 1.1 / 0.86	-40.7%

The cast and crew behind Mike & Molly informed the public a few weeks back that the show is done on CBS, including leading lady Melissa McCarthy, who won an Emmy for her performance in the series. There's very little reason to believe that this isn't the reality of the situation, not only with the current season having only 13-episodes and being benched for midseason, but also considering reports of CBS refusing to even have discussions about the future of the show with legendary comedy creator/producer Chuck Lorre. It's in "Certain to be Canceled" territory.

The new Jane Lynch-Maggie Lawson comedy Angel from Hell premiered this week to a 1.6 rating in the demo. This is about what Mom and 2 Broke Girls have been averaging so far this season, which isn't promising considering those comedies are in their third and fifth seasons, respectively. I'm placing the show "On the Bubble" at least until another data point is available from its second airing. A 1.6 doesn't exactly leave Angel from Hell much room to fall.

I have decided to promote Life in Pieces to "Likely to be Renewed" status this week after leaving it "On the Bubble" for months. The family comedy, with a strong ensemble cast consisting of James Brolin, Diane Wiest, and Colin Hanks, among others, premiered to a decent 2.6 rating in the demo in September, but quickly dropped to high 1s in the following weeks. This seemed like the signal of a poor downward trend for the singlecam, a format of comedy that CBS has not had much recent success with. However, it has since stabilized and averages 2.0 on the night, posting a 2.1 this past week. While the retention is relatively poor behind the juggernaut that is The Big Bang Theory, I am beginning to wonder if CBS would actually turn away a comedy, regardless of scheduling, that can yield 2.0+ in the demo in this day and age, given that Mom, 2 Broke Girls, Angel from Hell, and Mike & Molly have all failed to hit that mark so far this season. Yes, they don't have the luxury that Life in Pieces does, but CBS seems to want to make a singlecam work. They have given it a full 22-episode season, they are already losing Mike & Molly this season, Angel from Hell had a mediocre premiere and doesn't look strong for a renewal, and CBS's only other comedy waiting in the wings, The Odd Couple, has only 10 episodes ordered for its second season. The primary factors working against Life in Pieces are that it hails from an outside studio, and we don't yet know how many hours of comedy CBS will commit to next season. I just think CBS renews at least one of Life in Pieces, Angel from Hell, and The Odd Couple. My bet is currently placed on CBS's take on ABC's Modern Family, but one thing is certain: it won't get the Big Bang lead-in next year, should it return.

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What are your thoughts on my current predictions? Do you think CBS will renew or cancel Life in Pieces by May? Let me know in the comments below.