Sitcom Scorecard: April 26-May 5, 2020 (Final Predictions)

The bloodbath that is known as upfronts week has started as most shows are wrapping up their shortened runs.  Expect the chart to run red and green for the season's remains like Christmas vomited all over it, with hints of blue for ending shows lining it like Hanukkah shout-outs.  FOX sundays continue to belt out low performances along with a dwindling Last Man Standing's finale and now ABC has a stronger hold on averages.  It appears COVID-19 bumps have come and gone with few shows save for Young Sheldon are matching or creating new series lows.  The series to watch out for are Last Man Standing and Schooled, which appear to be in grave danger.  LMS returned after being revived on FOX last season to landmark ratings.  A damaging move to Thursdays left fans displaced as well as the series is losing its freshness after 8 seasons.  Being an outlier on scheduling and being the only non-animated series, LMS could meet its second cancellation.  Schooled is indeed critically superior to its parent series, but it is outsourced from Sony and cannot proven it operates independently without a lead-in.


CBS has announced their roster, with Bobishola expectly (and rightfully) earning a two-year renewal, The Neighborhood expectedly earning another season and surprisingly so did The Unicorn (it was cast as Leans Cancel).  Carol's Second Act (Leans Cancel) was dispensed, Broke (Likely Renewal) was a shocker as the series performed well for spring remains and Man With a Plan (Leans Renewal) was retired after 4 years of choppy scheduling.  So why did these three get the axe?  Carol was saddled with a tough timeslot and incompatible scheduling.  CBS showed little interest in Broke with late-season scheduling and appeared to be finishing it off.  And Man With a Plan may have been in season 4, but its strewn scheduling and plugging holes left the 63 episodes too far away from the syndication line to be lucrative.  Fans will indeed miss these series, but CBS has always presented tough predictions on renewal.  Cancellations out of left field in recent years included 2 Broke Girls, Kevin Can Wait and Life in Pieces, all of which there appeared to be strong interest in retaining.



Red is starting to dress the chart like a hooker on Saturday night as more shows are coming to an end.  That leaves 10 renewals (8 called prior to today), 4 cancellations, and 4 series which declared final seasons prior to ending.  5 shows remain certain for renewal -- The Goldbergs, The Conners, Family Guy, Bob's Burgers and American Housewife.  ABC needs as many players on deck as they can get, and in-house American Housewife fits the ticket despite drops this season.  The Goldbergs is the 2nd strongest and only disqualifying factor could be it's outsourced from Sony and/or the cast could be ready to move on after 7 seasons.  And The Conners is all but renewed as the primary three cast members have agreed to new contracts.  As for FOX, would they be foolish enough to cancel Bob's Burgers and Family Guy?  Doubtful, as Bless the Harts and Duncanville may be renewed but are weak.

That leaves 10 shows up in the air, mostly on ABC.  Black-ish is still listed as Likely Renewal despite that depressing 0.4 registered last evening.  The show still remains a critical darling and is needed as ABC has few options left.  Further down at Leans Renewal are ABC's Bless This Mess and FOX's Last Man Standing.  Though LMS faded this season, FOX could grant another season if scheduling space is available.  And Bless This Mess is ABC's only sitcom breaking the formula with no kids present.  On The Bubble are three ABC weaklings -- sophomore Single Parents, sophomore spinoff Schooled and prequel Mixed-ish.  All three are weak and saddle down their timeslots, but as mentioned, ABC is out of options as Fresh Off The Boat and Modern Family ended their runs. As for FOX's Outmatched and The Moody's?  Where would they sit on a tight schedule.


There's plenty of room in NBC's sitcom block as they lost The Good Place and Will & Grace as well as discarding dud Sunnyside, but Indebted and Perfect Harmony performed so lousy they may have cost an hour on NBC's Must-See-TV Thursdays.  Check out their appalling averages and the cruise the RATINGS LIBRARY and check out the years 1984-2006's ratings when NBC ruled that night.  It's a far cry and fall for a once glorious night.  This article will be updated throughout upfronts week, so tune in for updates on the final fates of the network sitcoms.

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