Below are the Week 20 predictions for CBS Renew/Cancel, followed by an analysis. Underneath that is the beginning of CBS Renew/Cancel March Madness, followed by the interactive schedule, where you can create and share your own predictions. Let us know what you think in the comments!
Prediction Changes-The Neighborhood has been upgraded from Leans Cancel to Renewed
-Watson has been upgraded from Tilts Cancel to Tilts Renew
Prediction Key
Week 20 Predictions
Despite its strong linear ratings, The Neighborhood was being watched closely this season on CBS Renew/Cancel. Now in its seventh season, cast contracts would have to be renegotiated for an eighth. It’s gained a reputation as a comfort show, consistently ranking in Paramount+’s Top 10 TV Shows list as a series. However, new episodes are at the bottom of the pack for multi-platform viewing among ongoing CBS series. The initial prediction was that The Neighborhood would be announced to be in its final season, an announcement that would likely be made some time between last summer and early this year. While I originally intended to upgrade it to a renewal prediction by now had that not been the case, that was before the potential spinoff came into the picture. The Marty and Malcolm-led series is one that, as predicted, still could replace The Neighborhood on the schedule, much like Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage did Young Sheldon. While CBS is not saying goodbye to The Neighborhood just yet, it’s clear if ordered the spinoff’s long-term purpose is to live in a world without The Neighborhood, not with it. The Neighborhood’s linear ratings did not suggest it would be one of CBS’s last renewals, nor did they suggest a renewal would be for a final season. It’s another example of just how much less linear ratings have mattered in renewal and cancelation decisions on CBS this season compared to previous seasons.
Watson
Watson is currently CBS’s highest-rated series in the Adults 18-49 Live + Same Day demo, entirely because of the premiere airing after the AFC Championship. If you disregard the series premiere, Watson is averaging just a 0.255 demo rating; only Elsbeth has a lower seasonal average, and by only two thousandths. This comes airing Sundays at 9, directly following Tracker. Watson has at least been remarkably steady in three of its four time slot airings so far, is filmed in Vancouver, and produced in-house. CBS clearly wanted the show to succeed, or else they wouldn’t have given it such a high-profile series premiere and essentially kicked The Equalizer to the curb in favor of it, and they wouldn’t be rerunning it in weekday time slots (Saturday reruns, meanwhile, could indicate make goods and spell doom).
While I wanted to wait to see if CBS would release multi-platform ratings before considering upgrading Watson to a renewal prediction, it’s quite possible a renewal and a revelation of those ratings comes in the same press release. I expect that if Watson gets renewed, it will move to Fridays, with Fire Country headed to Tuesdays. It would be a low-risk time slot for the middling new drama, and could even be favorable to it like it was for Hawaii Five-0, Magnum P.I., and S.W.A.T. Watson arguably does not deserve to be renewed, but CBS has opened up the space on the schedule to do so should they choose. If Watson was produced by Warner Brothers like one previous time slot occupant in East New York was, or Disney like previous midseason entry True Lies, I don’t think I would even be considering a renewal prediction. Being fully owned with the network seemingly standing behind it, it gets upgraded to Tilts Renew this week, still very much on the bubble.
CBS Renew/Cancel March Madness
It’s now time for the third annual CBS Renew/Cancel March Madness. All 18 scripted shows that aired on CBS in the 2024-25 TV season will compete. Since CBS has made renewal and cancelation decisions on almost all of their scripted shows already, seedings will be organized by average Live + Same Day Adults 18-49 demo rating, rather than a show’s renew/cancel prediction. The top 14 seeds are all locked into the Sweet Sixteen, while seeds 15 through 18 have a play-in round to secure the last two spots. These polls cover both the opening round and the Sweet Sixteen.
S.W.A.T. is the reigning champion of CBS Renew/Cancel March Madness, winning as the 17 seed against Tracker just days after CBS uncanceled it and renewed it for an eighth season. The year before, Fire Country was the winner of the inaugural CBS Renew/Cancel March Madness, defeating NCIS: Los Angeles which had a higher vote total in every previous round.
Will S.W.A.T. or Fire Country retake their throne? Will there be a new winner of CBS Renew/Cancel March Madness? Vote in the polls below this bracket and stay tuned for the next round of voting next Sunday! Also vote in the opening round of NBC Renew/Cancel March Madness in the latest NBC Renew/Cancel.
Interactive Schedule
| The TV Ratings Guide | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | The Neighborhood | Poppa’s House | NCIS | NCIS: Origins | |
| Tues | FBI | FBI: International | FBI: Most Wanted | ||
| Wed | Survivor | The Amazing Race | |||
| Thurs | Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage | Ghosts | Matlock | Elsbeth | |
| Fri | NCIS: Sydney | Fire Country | S.W.A.T. | ||
| Sun | Tracker | Watson | The Equalizer | ||
Renewed
Certain Renew
Likely Renew
Leans Renew
Tilts Renew
Tilts Cancel
Leans Cancel
Likely Cancel
Certain Cancel
Canceled