CBS Renew/Cancel Week 25: Poppa’s Getting Kicked Out of the House

The Ratings Junkie

Below are predictions for Week 25 of CBS Renew/Cancel, followed by an analysis. Underneath that is a poll as well as the interactive schedule, where you can make and share your own predictions. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Key

Week 25 Predictions

Poppa’s House

As a show fully owned by Paramount, Poppa’s House had no excuse to not be renewed already had CBS intended on doing so. Its prospects are far less complicated than those of The Equalizer. With The Neighborhood renewed for a final season and little room for a comedy expansion, Poppa’s House needed a late season rally to have any chance of snatching a spot on the 2025-26 schedule. So far, it’s been inconsistent.

Its March 31 airing had stellar retention from The Neighborhood, notching a 0.34 Adults 18-49 Live + Same Day rating out of The Neighborhood’s 0.36 and even out-rating NCIS. Its most recent airing was a bit different, notching a 0.26 after The Neighborhood’s 0.33 and tying NCIS. Most importantly, NCIS has the excuse of being a streaming and international juggernaut, while The Neighborhood has built up a back catalog that has also allowed it to be among Paramount+’s top series. Poppa’s House is neither of those, nor does it show any indication of becoming either should it be granted additional seasons. Poppa’s House was CBS’s second-least-viewed show in Live + 35 + Multiplatform after its first few episodes aired, with no streaming ratings being revealed since then.

Poppa’s House’s best hope is if CBS expands to a five-comedy schedule, plugging something after Survivor on Wednesdays. Even then, CBS would have to choose Poppa’s House over two of their three comedies in contention for the 2025-26 season. While possible, it’s tough to envision a renewal at this point when CBS is already so hesitant to renew it. That’s not a sign of a show that has a long-term future, making it more likely to be cut loose after one season than to squeak out a second and delay the inevitable.

In the days where linear ratings ruled supreme, Poppa’s House would have a solid chance at coming back. Even though it’s CBS’s lowest-rated comedy, it’s still an average player overall among all their scripted shows in the Live + Same Day Adults 18-49 demo. However, overall viewership tells a different story, and it’s one of few shows that isn’t part of an IP. With a clear lack of schedule space, the writing is on the wall for Poppa’s House, even though it did rather solidly overall on the linear schedule.

Schedulogy: What’s Ahead

With Matlock’s first season coming to a close this past week, Elsbeth slides up to the 9 pm time slot for the final three episodes of its second season. As an incredibly strong streaming player, keep a close watch on its ratings these upcoming weeks. This will provide an indication of if the increasingly-weakening 10 pm is the wrong time slot for Elsbeth, or if being a spinoff of a Paramount+ show simply naturally gives it a built-in streaming audience that doesn’t translate over to CBS. No matter how it does, I wouldn’t expect Elsbeth to inherit the Thursdays at 9 pm time slot in the fall. However, if it does get a nice 9 pm-induced boost, Sundays and Fridays could both be options for its time slot next season. Schedulogy will weigh in once we get a look at this coming Thursday’s ratings.

Poll

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