The 2023-24 season is a wrap, with ABC making its final decisions and launching its fall schedule since our last renew/cancel. This week, I take a look back on the season that was, after a short, strike-impacted year of programming.
Certain Cancellation:
N/A
Likely Cancellation:
Not Dead Yet (Canceled 5/10)
Leans Cancellation:
N/A
Leans Renewal:
The Conners (Unofficially renewed 5/2, officially renewed 5/10)
Canceled Before the Season Began:
The Good Doctor (Canceled 1/11)
Station 19 (Canceled 12/8)
Not Dead Yet: The only show with its fate up in the air during my final prediction post, Not Dead Yet was canceled ten days ago, after two seasons. While I initially thought it would be renewed early in its second season, things quickly went off the rails, and it was downgraded - first to leans cancellation, and then ultimately to likely cancellation. What exactly ABC's sitcom block will look like remains up in the air - only Abbott Elementary made the fall schedule, with the short final season of The Conners and at least one new comedy likely airing midseason - but we do know that Not Dead Yet won't be a part of it. Based on its declining ratings and weakened multiplatform ratings, that's a good call by ABC.
Conclusion:
This was a very unorthodox season for ABC, as they had only nine scripted shows on their lineup this year. Of those, two were announced as ending before the season began, leaving just seven shows to predict. I was able to get all seven of those right, but with most feeling like foregone conclusions, I find myself feeling a bit less excited about that than I was when I accomplished the same feat two seasons ago, when there were nearly twice as many shows to predict, and far more bubble shows. Of this years shows, only Not Dead Yet and The Conners ever really seemed to be in danger - though there remained a faint possibility that things could go awry with The Rookie's renewal. All in all, this season just felt like a wash, between the very short seasons and the limited amount of shows being aired by ABC at all, and the complete lack of new shows on the network this season. Just six editions of the Renew/Cancel were posted by the time ABC had already made decisions on over half of their lineup, a far cry from the last several seasons, where ABC waited until May to decide pretty much anything outside of their biggest hits. I look forward to next season, when we'll get at least two new scripted shows, and will have many more weeks of data to analyze. Thank you all for reading the ABC Renew/Cancel over the last few months. I will be back next week with a look ahead at next season, before the Summer Renew/Cancel returns the week after that. The ABC Renew/Cancel will return this fall.
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