ABC Renew/Cancel Week 19: The Good Enough Doctor

This week on the ABC Renew/Cancel, I take another look at one ABC drama that's flown fully under the radar this season. Plus, a further look at two of ABC's newest shows.

Certain Cancellation:
N/A

Likely Cancellation:
Alaska Daily (0.23, 0.17-0.32)
The Company You Keep (0.28, 0.26-0.29)

Leans Cancellation:
N/A

Leans Renewal:
Big Sky (0.25, 0.19-0.31)
Home Economics (0.35, 0.30-0.41)
Not Dead Yet (0.35, 0.29-0.44)
Will Trent (0.30, 0.25-0.38)

Likely Renewal:
The Good Doctor (0.32, 0.25-0.39)
The Rookie: Feds (0.30, 0.21-0.44)

Certain Renewal:
The Conners (0.52, 0.39-0.61)
Grey's Anatomy (0.48, 0.40-0.55)
The Rookie (0.43, 0.27-0.64)
Station 19 (0.49, 0.44-0.53)

Already Canceled/Ending:
A Million Little Things
The Goldbergs

Already Renewed:
Abbott Elementary

Coming Soon:
The Wonder Years

The Good Doctor: In a long-overdue update, it's time for me to take another look at The Good Doctor. Overshadowed since its midseason return by new series debuts, strike rumors and series cancellations, The Good Doctor has gotten minimal attention from me since I downgraded it all the way back in October following it series low 0.25 in the second week of the season. It's aired twelve episodes since then - all of them rounding to 0.3 in the demo. This somehow makes it ABC's highest-rated 10 PM series (The Rookie, which aired only half its season at 10 PM, notwithstanding). In addition to its middling-but-better-than-the-rest ratings, ABC is also testing out a potential spinoff later this month, with a backdoor pilot for The Good Lawyer set to air soon. While the show will have to undergo contract renegotiations after its current season, which has doomed plenty of shows in the past, it seems very well-positioned to survive those talks (unlike fellow medical drama The Resident, which is all but officially dead). It is a LIKELY RENEWAL, an upgrade I will admit has been in the cards for a long time.

Not Dead Yet: I seem to talk about this show every week since its debut, but as one of the biggest bubble shows on the network, it's one of the most interesting to discuss. Last week, Not Dead Yet gave back the gain it made the week before, dropping to a new low of 0.29. Not only is that a series low for Not Dead Yet - it's also a new low for an original episode in ABC's Wednesday 9:30 slot this season. Going lower than Home Economics went all season is not really anything to brag about, but it does at least have the excuse that it had a lower Abbott lead-in than Home Economics ever had. Not Dead Yet is also, seemingly, more popular on Hulu than Home Economics was, which is why, despite the decline, I remain mildly optimistic about its renewal chances. It continues to LEAN RENEWAL.

The Company You Keep: Last week, The Company You Keep managed to defy expectations by rising in its second episode. While that is likely due to a large boost for its lead-in (American Idol gained a full ratings point from its premiere), it's still notable that a show that outright bombed in its first week managed to rise a little the following week. In spite of the rise, and in spite of the 0.29 it received being higher than numerous other 10 PM dramas, the show's future is still from. 41% retention is nothing to write home about, and a weak 0.3 is still a weak 0.3. Almost every other ABC drama - aside from, perhaps, Alaska Daily (which has weaker ratings, but premiered quite a bit better than Company did in MP+7) - has a better argument for renewal than Company, and it's going to take a few more ratings gains to even put it in the conversation. That seems unlikely, and it remains a LIKELY CANCELLATION.

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!

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