The NBC Renew/Cancel returns this week, as I take a further look at NBC's ill-fated Tuesday night lineup.
Certain Cancellation:
N/A
Leans Cancellation:
N/A
Leans Renewal:
Extended Family (0.31, 0.22-0.71)
Law & Order: Organized Crime (0.40, 0.36-0.46)
Likely Renewal:
Chicago Med (0.54, 0.47-0.62)
Law & Order (0.42, 0.38-0.48)
Night Court (0.34, 0.28-0.46)
Certain Renewal:
Chicago Fire (0.54, 0.47-0.63)
Chicago PD (0.51, 0.46-0.57)
Law & Order: SVU (0.54, 0.48-0.62)
Saturday Night Live (0.72, 0.60-0.96)
Already Canceled/Final Season:
La Brea (0.19, 0.17-0.21)
Magnum PI (0.26, 0.21-0.32)
Already Renewed:
Found (0.31, 0.25-0.40)
The Irrational (0.27, 0.19-0.34)
Coming Soon:
Lopez vs Lopez
Night Court: Last season, Night Court was noted for its harsh declines over the course of the season, dropping from a season high of 0.98 for its premiere all the way down to 0.29 for a random episode in April. Despite that high start, it averaged a 0.51 for the first season due to those gradual declines, and the show seemed doomed to continue those drops through its second season. At first, it looked like that could happen. After a 0.37 time slot debut, the show dropped in week two, then bounced back before sliding in week four again and hitting a new low in week five. However, ever since then, it's pretty much stabilized, never going below its season low, or below last season's low. With a 0.34 average, the show is towards the middle of NBC's scripted pack - below every Dick Wolf show, but above all of the others. Considering the very low standards for comedy on NBC, a sitcom that's only slightly below the league average looks pretty respectable. With its newfound stability and average ratings, it has solidified itself as a LIKELY RENEWAL.
Extended Family: Since hitting 0.23 for the first time on January 23, Extended Family has only twice erred from that rating, with a 0.22 on February 6 and a 0.25 this week. 0.23 isn't an impressive rating at all, but there is something to be said about the show stabilizing and finding a base audience. With just three episodes left in its run, it seems unlikely that it's going to go much lower than this, so NBC knows what they're getting from it. Ten episodes into the second season of the previous occupant of the Tuesday at 8:30 time slot, American Auto, it was at 0.24 - and that was with Night Court performing about a tenth better. In all, Extended Family has retained Night Court at a much higher level than American Auto, and, given NBC's habit of renewing weak first-season comedies for second seasons, I think that'll be enough for a renewal, especially considering that they've bragged about how it's done for them on Peacock. It LEANS RENEWAL and is in a better position than it was the last time I discussed it.
Quantum Leap: Since our last Renew/Cancel, Quantum Leap wrapped up its second season in familiar territory, capping off its season with a 0.18, a rating that became typical for it since its move to Tuesdays. While La Brea and Extended Family were far from desirable lead-ins, Quantum Leap still managed to drop a bit from both of them, rather than build on them, which is what would've happened if its audience from the first half of the season had stuck with it. Instead, it became obvious that that higher demo in the first half of the season - which was unimpressive enough to get it on the bubble to begin with - was inflated by the 7 PM local lead-in, and the show really couldn't live without it. Even the showrunners themselves and Universal executives seem to be hinting in interviews that season three isn't all that likely. Hopes for a third season seem like, and it caps off its second season as a LIKELY CANCELLATION.
What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments!
