Revivals and reboots are touted everywhere this decade. Shows such as Dallas, One Day at a Time, Full House, Roseanne, Murphy Brown, Will & Grace, Whose Line is it Anyway?, Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ’n Out, and Dynasty all managed to get the revival and/or reboot treatment across broadcast and cable. What’s next? “*Insert Network Here* Orders Revival/Reboot of *Insert Long Gone Show Here*”. Here at the TV Ratings Guide, we have one simple message: “Knock it off with the reboots!” Thus, Do Not Resuscitate was born, and in today’s installment, we focus on the FOX comedy series, ’Til Death.
The Original Hit & Miss Machine -- ’Til Death (2006-2010)
’Til Death debuted to a 3.1 in the A18-49 demographic and a 10 share, which was a promising start for a married couples sitcom. Then it dipped to a 2.5 the next week, then a 2.2, and was below a 2.0 after the World Series concluded. FOX then moved the show to behind American Idol, where it peaked to a 6.3 A18-49 rating. Needless to say, the show never got back above a 3.0 outside of Idol after the first two seasons. The show went as low as a 1.4 A18-49 rating in the third season, and was yanked off the schedule entirely after six episodes. Normally, a low rated show would have been canceled after getting pulled from the schedule. However, ’Til Death inexplicably got renewed for a fourth season of 22 episodes. This is based on a deal Sony TV made with FOX to get the show sold into syndication, bringing the episode total to 81 episodes. In ’Til Death’s Friday run, the highest the show went was a 1.3 in season four, and dipped to a new low of 0.5 on Sunday. Basically 35 episodes of its run was spent being burned off in the Sunday 7pm time slot.
Not to mention, the show had an ever-changing premise. The original premise of the show involved two married couples: one older couple and one newly married couple at two different stages of life. In season 3, the show changed to the best friend dynamic, and in season 4, the premise changed to the older couple’s daughter moving back home with her slacker boyfriend and later husband. In its four season run, the show starred Brad Garrett, Joely Fisher, Kat Foster, Eddie Kaye Thomas, J.B. Smoove, Lindsey Broad, Kate Micucci, and Timm Sharp.
So, this show was not a hit by any means, but rather a hit and miss because of the unconventional syndication method it was saved by. FOX’s cancelation ax finally killed ’Til Death in February 2010. Fortunately, most public viewers have not heard of this ratings joke.
Reasons This Show Needs to Stay Canceled
- Most of the actors moved on to other projects. Kat Foster and Eddie Kaye Thomas moved on after season 2, and Lindsey Broad was replaced after ten episodes in season 4. Brad Garrett landed a series regular role on the new ABC comedy Single Parents.
- It was the lowest rated show on FOX for over a third of its run and was regularly getting beat by Telemundo.
- This show, like According to Jim, was kept around for reasons other than ratings.
- For the love of God, nobody outside of the ratings community has ever heard of this show in the slightest.
If you need a fix, you can see ’Til Death in syndication on GetTV, at 1am in the morning. It is also available to buy on Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play.
