Once again, Spring numbers are soft and flimsy on the schedule, driving down several series. So much so ABC and FOX are one thousandth apart, potentially leading to a weakened ABC lineup taking 2nd place for the seasons having been cemented in third and briefly run over by NBC in February. Noticeable drops for the week came for CBS Mondays as well as freshman series such as The Great North, Kenan, Home Economics and United States of Al. The Great North was already handed a renewal, but most freshman and sophomore sitcoms have questionable renewal odds. Young Rock has demonstrated enough stability for NBC while Kenan continues to hemorrhage viewers.
Over at ABC, freshman Call Your Mother and Home Economics registered weak retention out of solid lead-ins and sophomore Mixedish failed to capitalize on a development bed with This Is Us in freefall. Home Economics may get a pass if ABC decides to throw the towel in on American Housewife but a late season debut leaves the odds stacked against them. The trouble with ABC's sitcoms was timing as all would have displayed more successfully had they debuted in earlier seasons. Call Your Mother pairs nicely with the multicam tempo of The Conners and perhaps would have found its footing on Tuesday. Home Economics would have benefited greatly being paired next door the Modern Family before it bowed out, and Mixedish would have been received better when Blackish was stronger.
Over at CBS, the writing is on the wall United States of Al, B-Positive and The Unicorn cannot sustain or lead an hour of programming. With Mom nearing its end, the network has not located a strong player to anchor the Thursday 9:00 hour. CBS does indeed have capability of launching successful shows with The Neighborhood and Bob Hearts Abishola debuting successfully on Monday without other shows powering them up. And FOX? It appears the live action comedies are the weaklings as Call Me Kat hardly stands out, and The Moodys just plain sinks.
