It's the final NBC Renew/Cancel of the year, and some recent developments for some of NBC's sitcoms are no laughing matter. Keep reading to see who's getting coal in their stocking this year!
Certain to Land on NBC's Naughty List:
Brilliant Minds (0.24, 0.17-0.29)
Leans towards Landing on NBC's Naughty List:
Found (0.21, 0.18-0.26)
Night Court (0.28, 0.20-0.32)
Leans towards Landing on NBC's Nice List:
N/A
Likely to Landing on NBC's Nice List:
Chicago Med (0.39, 0.33-0.46)
Happy's Place (0.27, 0.21-0.35)
Law & Order (0.29, 0.25-0.36)
Certain to Landing on NBC's Nice List:
Chicago Fire (0.39, 0.35-0.46)
Chicago PD (0.34, 0.30-0.36)
Law & Order: SVU (0.35, 0.29-0.41)
Saturday Night Live (0.85, 0.64-1.24)
St. Denis Medical (0.39, 0.30-0.51)
Not Opening Until After Christmas:
Grosse Pointe Garden Society
The Hunting Party
Suits: LA
Night Court: This week, Night Court aired its final episode of the year. It heads into what will be an abbreviated midseason break, returning in less than a month for the remainder of its season, on a series low. It wasn't just the 0.20 rating that looked bad, it was also its retention, with the veteran comedy retaining just two-thirds of its St. Denis Medical lead-in. It's by far the show's worst retention so far, previously holding at least 80% of St. Denis' ratings for the few fall airings that preceded this one. This is also the worst retention any live-action bottom-of-the-hour comedy on TV has posted this fall. There's really no excuse for this poor showing. Its competition wasn't much different than usual, with ABC's airing of the NBA Cup performing about the same as Dancing with the Stars and FBI rating no different than usual. Its lead-in was also pretty steady, only down a single hundredth. It crumbled all on its own, and it looks very vulnerable. With a full night of programming being scrapped due to NBC's deal with the NBA (as well as post-NFL Sundays), NBC shows have absolutely nowhere to hide. Hard cuts will have to be made, and I've long imagined that this partially-owned, third-season sitcom with mediocre-at-best ratings would be among those cuts. Adding to the show's vulnerability is that NBC has several new comedies in development, including a new Julie Bowen sitcom and a cheerleading comedy from the creators of Trial & Error and Pivoting. It's hard to know this far out just what NBC's schedule will look like, or how many comedy slots will be on it, but Night Court is not making much of an argument for itself. It continues to LEAN CANCELLATION.
Lopez vs Lopez: Ratings-wise, Lopez vs Lopez is not a total disaster. Its retention of Happy's Place is OK, and its most recent ratings have been only a few hundredths below Night Court, which (unlike Lopez) is only partially owned and in a much better time slot. If I were NBC, and I needed to renew a third sitcom besides the two freshmen sitcoms, I'd have to give a real look at giving Lopez vs Lopez a fourth season over Night Court, with Lopez already having been tested on Friday nights and likely being a bit cheaper to produce. That being said, I really doubt NBC needs to renew a third comedy this season, and the way they're treating Lopez does not suggest that they're spending much time considering a ten renewal for it. While they did order more scripts for the show than the initial thirteen episodes, they didn't order them to actually be produced, while they did order more episodes of Happy's Place. They still have time, but even if they would order them, taking three months to give a backorder to a show in its third season can't be a good sign. Of course, these matters can be deceiving - NBC cut the show's order outright last season (from thirteen to ten), and I was sure it was doomed then. It was renewed in the end, which made it clear that cutting the order was about not having the space on the schedule to actually air those episodes. This scheduling decision is NBC making the choice to let Happy's Place air five episodes more than Lopez despite clearly having room on the lineup, which makes it very different, and quite damning. I don't view the show as being any weaker than Night Court, but I also think Happy's Place and especially St. Denis Medical are both clearly stronger, so the apparent incoming cancellation is not exactly unwarranted. Barring a late backorder (and probably some upwards rating movement, too), it's a LIKELY CANCELLATION.
Interactive Schedule:
| The TV Ratings Guide | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | The Voice | Brilliant Minds | ||||
| Tues | St. Denis Medical | Night Court | The Voice | The Irrational | ||
| Wed | Chicago Med | Chicago Fire | Chicago PD | |||
| Thurs | Law & Order | Law & Order: SVU | Found | |||
| Fri | Happy's Place | Lopez vs Lopez | Dateline NBC | |||
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!
Poll Maker