This week on the ABC Renew/Cancel, I take a look at the ending of one of ABC's longest-running shows and how that impacts two other shows that look to be heavily on the bubble.
Certain Cancellation:
N/A
Likely Cancellation:
Alaska Daily (0.24, 0.17-0.32)
The Company You Keep (0.26)
Leans Cancellation:
N/A
Leans Renewal:
Big Sky (0.25, 0.19-0.31)
The Good Doctor (0.32, 0.25-0.39)
Home Economics (0.35, 0.30-0.41)
Not Dead Yet (0.37, 0.31-0.44)
Will Trent (0.32, 0.27-0.38)
Coming Soon:
The Goldbergs: Last week, ABC announced its most notable decision of the season so far when they canceled The Goldbergs, by far broadcast TV's longest-running live action comedy on the air right now, after ten seasons. The fate of the Goldbergs was something I debated numerous times this season, and neither renewal or cancellation would had shocked me too much, despite the surreality of the show's ending being so soon. In the end, though, this was a miss for me, as I had expected ABC to give this show far more advanced notice of its ending. I upgraded the show from a cancellation prediction to a renewal as I didn't think they would cancel it with such little time left in filming. In reality, it was seemingly canceled after filming wrapped, which is the most surprising aspect of this to me. Its cast and crew did seem to have somewhat of an idea that the end was nigh, but this remains a sad end to one of broadcast TV's all-time great comeback stories.
Not Dead Yet: It was a good week for Not Dead Yet, as the show seemed to have held steady on Wednesday night (we don't have finals for the night yet, but the show rose a bit in viewer, which should indicate relative demo stability). Multiplatform viewership totals were also announced for its premiere, with the show starting with a strong 1.7 in MP+7 ratings - more than double the season high of Home Economics this year. And, last but not least, The Goldbergs was canceled, which should theoretically ease the path to renewal for a show with borderline ratings. Not Dead Yet is still not safe, because it's too early to really say, but this was a good week for it, and the path to renewal is looking clearer. It continues to LEAN RENEWAL.
Home Economics: The show that may gain the most from the cancellation of the Goldbergs is Home Economics, which I had begun to write off after Not Dead Yet's solid multiplatform performance and OK same-day ratings. ABC seemed to see Home Economics as an afterthought, a bit of mere scheduling sparkle to fill spaces that needed filling. However, with The Goldbergs acting a slot, ABC may want Home Economics back as a backup yet again. ABC has just a single comedy pilot so far this season, which indicates to me that they may be looking to renew all of their remaining comedies. Home Economics had an acceptable enough performance in this slot that a renewal would be perfectly reasonable in spite of the shortened season, and I am a bit more confident in my LEANS RENEWAL prediction.
What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments and vote in the poll of the week!
