NBC Renew/Cancel Week 17: An Embarrassing Return for Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. Does It Matter?

NBC filled out its Sunday lineup this week, returning Zoey's Extraoridary Playlist to its original timeslot. It.. didn't go great. Will that matter for either scripted show in the lineup? Read on to find out!

Certain Cancellation:
N/A

Likely Cancellation: 
Nurses (0.3)
Debris (0.4)

Leans Cancellation:
Kenan (0.5)

Leans Renewal: 
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (0.4)

Likely Renewal:
Good Girls (0.3)
Young Rock (0.7)

Certain Renewal:
Saturday Night Live (1.3)

Already Renewed:
The Blacklist
Chicago Fire
Chicago Med
Chicago PD
Law & Order: SVU
Mr. Mayor
New Amsterdam
This Is Us
Transplant

Already Canceled/Final Season:
Connecting...
Superstore

Coming Soon:
Joe Exotic
Law & Order: Organized Crime
Manifest 

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist: Sunday was a rough night for Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. After a season of posting mild growth from season one, the musical dramedy tanked to a wretched 0.24. In its defense, its lead-in was a 0.33 from the mostly incompatible Ellen's Game of Games, and Sundays have been a wasteland for NBC for many seasons now. 73% retention isn't really that great, especially when the lead-in is only a 0.33, but I can't entirely fault the show for doing badly with such little support. It doesn't seem like the sort of show that's still around for ratings reasons, anyway. It did awful in season one and still scored a renewal. You can argue that it was a pity renewal in season one to avoid canceling every freshman series, but Lincoln Rhyme arguably did better than it and got canceled. Clearly there's some value in this show beyond its ratings on NBC. It does seem to be a decent player in delayed and streaming, if nothing "extraordinary," so that could be it. Either way, I'd assume it manages to make NBC some money if they renewed it last year. There's also the awards aspect. The series nabbed a Golden Globe nomination and a Critcs Choice Award nomination this year, and GoldDerby lists it as a top contender for multiple categories at the Emmys, including Best Comedy and Best Actress. Awards don't mean everything, and acclaimed shows get canceled, but it's rare to see a network push for award nominations for a show they don't want to keep around. NBC loves this show. It's not because it's a strong ratings performer. It probably manages to make them a decent amount of money and gives them a prestige show. In an era where broadcast has few award contenders, that does matter to some networks. I don't think the 0.2 is a nail in its coffin. It still LEANS RENEWAL.

Good Girls: Speaking of Sunday, Good Girls did something impressive once again: it grew from its lead-in. Sure, a 0.32 doesn't feel impressive. In a vaccum, it certainly isn't. But in a lineup that is an absolute ratings disaster, growing from your lead-in at 10 PM is a great sign. There's a reliable, stable audience for this show that will tune in on broadcast for it. It's also a huge performer on streaming that makes NBC a boatload of money due to its Netflix deal. It looks very well-positioned for another season, and is a LIKELY RENEWAL.


What do you think of these predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments and vote in the poll of the week!

Where would you place Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist?
Certain Renewal
Likely Renewal
Leans Renewal
Leans Cancellation
Likely Cancellation
Certain Cancellation

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