NBC Renew/Cancel Week 21: Final Calls for Zoey’s Playlist, Good Girls, Manifest, Perfect Harmony, Lincoln Rhyme & More - Plus, Council of Dads Enters

It's time for the final NBC renew/cancel of the season! I've made a lot of ratings changes over the season, but it all comes down to this final update. I've dissected these shows over the past 20 weeks, and will give each one a final write-up. Plus, Council of Dads enters the scene to get an initial, maybe final, maybe not, prediction.

Certain Cancellation:

Bluff City Law (0.6)

Council of Dads (0.5)

Indebted (0.4)

Likely Cancellation: 
Perfect Harmony (0.4)

Leans Cancellation:
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For the Bone Collector (0.5)
Manifest (0.7)

Leans Renewal: 
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (0.4)

Likely Renewal:
Good Girls (0.4)

Certain Renewal:
Saturday Night Live (1.3)

Already Renewed:
The Blacklist
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Chicago Fire
Chicago Med
Chicago PD
Law & Order: SVU
New Amsterdam
Superstore
This Is Us

Already Canceled/Final Season:
Blindspot
The Good Place
Sunnyside
Will & Grace

Bluff City Law: I previously upgraded this episode a few months ago because it already had multiple scripts written, meaning that it would be one of the few shows that would have episodes ready to film in the event that there would be a writer's strike this year. However, the COVID-19 has rendered that point moot, as it remains to be seen when filming could even take place. If shows aren't able to return until winter, I see no way that NBC would want to bring back this 0.5 show after such a long break. It's downgraded to a CERTAIN CANCELLATION. Chance of renewal: 1%

Council of Dads: A show that NBC clearly hates based on their frankly bizarre treatment of it, Council of Dads just returned after a one-off airing behind This Is Us. It still hasn't even aired in its intended timeslot (Thursdays at 8). However, what I have seen from the show only suggests that it's a CERTAIN CANCELLATION. Despite airing on the same night that Parks and Rec returned with a 1.4, episode two of Council drew just a 0.3. There are other shows that hit 0.3 this season that I think are probably coming back, but the way that NBC has treated Council suggests that they're just burning it off and that 0.3 does nothing to change that. It's mostly a summer show so I'll probably talk more about it in the Summer Renew/Cancel, but there's always a chance NBC could decide on it sometime before the end of May. In that case: Chance of renewal: 1%

Good Girls: It's clearly not a hit in L+SD ratings, and it never was one, but this show has a following out there on streaming, and with a Netflix deal like it has, that matters. It became clear last season that NBC wasn't keeping it around for any ratings reasons, and the Sunday at 10 slot is the best place to air it without doing any damage to anything else. With the latest season getting no closure due to COVID-caused production shutdowns, I have a hard time seeing NBC part ways with it now. I don't think it has much time left, but at the very least, I see a fourth and final season for it. Chance of renewal: 80%

Indebted: This one is probably in the running for the biggest bomb of the season. It was such a bomb, in fact, that NBC didn't even bother to air all thirteen episodes of it in-season, leaving one to presumably burn off in the summer. Fran Drescher's return to TV didn't make any sort of splash and averaged only 0.01 higher than Sunnyside, which was pulled after a few episodes and had NBC ownership to help its case. There's no way they bring this back. At all. Chance of renewal: 0%

Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For the Bone Collector: It's hard to predict a cancellation or a renewal for this one, because it genuinely did OK but doesn't seem to be well-liked by NBC. I'd argue that it was the strongest new show on NBC this season (with a huge 0.47 average!), which is not necessarily a big compliment considering the other newbies. It's co-produced by Sony, so NBC doesn't fully own it, which I think hinders its odds. On top of that, NBC losing it wouldn't leave any sort of hole in their schedule, and the show feels very disposable. Chance of renewal: 40%

Manifest: This is the hardest NBC show for me to predict this year. Ratings-wise, I think it should be renewed. However, it's not fully owned by NBC and they don't have distribution rights. In an era that values ownership more and more, that will hurt the chances for a middle-of-the-road performer like Manifest. It's a tough call, but in the end I feel like it will just barely come up short. Chance of renewal: 49%

Perfect Harmony: After many weeks as a certain cancellation, I'm upgrading Perfect Harmony to a mildy-better LIKELY CANCELLATION prediction. It was a big flop, but there were certainly bigger flops on NBC this year and they are apparently high on the show. I have a hard time buying that it'll be back, but I think certain cancellation should be reserved for the shows that are clearly, 100% dead, which this one isn't. Chance of renewal: 15%

Saturday Night Live: Will outlive us all. Chance of renewal: 100%

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist: I struggled all season with this one. Ratings-wise, it shouldn't be in contention at all. The network is clearly in love with it, however, and they've made it very clear that they're satisfied with its non-linear performance, running frequent ads about the show drawing 40 million viewers for its pilot online. I don't think they'll give up on it so easily, and for that reason, I think it will be back. Chance of renewal: 60%

What do you think of my final predictions  What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to vote in the poll of the week!

Author : Rebecca Bunch

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