Beyond The Animated TV Grave: God, the Devil and Bob

The Ratings Junkie

Beyond The Animated TV Grave is a sub-series of Beyond The TV Grave, and takes a look at short-lived prime time adult animated series that aired on ABC, CBS, or NBC. This seventh edition focuses on NBC’s 2000 series God, the Devil and Bob, which received a 13-episode order but aired just four before being pulled from the schedule.

Background & Synopsis

God, the Devil and Bob would be the first adult animated series to premiere on ABC, CBS, or NBC since The Critic in 1994, and the first on NBC since Jokebook in 1982. It would be the first adult animated series to ever premiere in the standard TV season in NBC’s history (Jokebook’s three-episode run took place over the summer). God, the Devil and Bob was penciled into NBC’s Tuesday at 8:30 pm time slot, airing in between a past-its-peak 3rd Rock from the Sun and a pre-Must See TV Will & Grace on what was one of NBC’s worst weeknights. 3rd Rock from the Sun was as compatible a lead-in as NBC could give an adult animated sitcom, though, and co-starred French Stewart who also voices Bob on God, the Devil and Bob.

The series followed Bob Allman, an auto plant worker and far from a model citizen from Detroit who finds himself becoming a messenger of God. James Garner’s God is considering destroying the universe and starting over with a new one, displeased with the current state of humanity. Alan Cumming’s Devil intends to convince God to follow through on this plan, while Bob’s actions will decide if humanity is saved or if God indeed does start over with a new universe. Rounding out the show include the Devil’s assistant, Bob’s wife, young son, and the Nancy Cartwright-voiced teen daughter.

The series’ controversial premise, and in particular its depiction of God, led to an immediate boycott among some of NBC’s affiliates. Nine affiliates refused to air the show from the start, very much giving it an uphill battle to success.

Ratings & Cancelation

God, the Devil and Bob premiered on Thursday, March 9, 2000 at a special time after Friends. With a 10.1 Household rating, it had 73% retention out of NBC’s hit sitcom. While that was enough for the adult animated series premiere to win its time slot, it proceeded to be out-rated by the rerun of Frasier that followed it (10.3). Its rating was also slightly lower than the previous week’s regularly-scheduled airing of Jesse, which aired after a lower-rated rerun of Friends.

While the series premiere was underwhelming at best, the real ratings disappointment for God, the Devil and Bob came when it settled into its Tuesday time slot. It plummeted to a 4.6 Household rating, down roughly 55% from its series premiere in both Households and total viewers (6.34 million vs 14.42 million for the premiere). Of course, it wasn’t going to come close to a 10 Household rating with a 5.9 from 3rd Rock from the Sun as its lead-in or an 18.6 from Who Wants to be a Millionaire as its competition, but this was a harsh decline nonetheless. It ironically tied Family Guy for third place in its time slot. The underwhelming time slot premiere led to eight more affiliates dropping the series, bringing the total number of affiliates boycotting God, the Devil and Bob to 17.

God, the Devil and Bob’s ratings declined slightly for its third airing to a 4.4 Household rating and 5.96 million viewers, and again in its fourth to a 4.2 Household rating and 5.67 million viewers. Its 3rd Rock from the Sun lead-in also steadily declined, going from a 5.9 in their first week as a pairing to a 5.5 the next and a 5.1 the week after, while ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire had settled into the 19s. God, the Devil and Bob came squarely in fourth place in its time slot for its third and fourth episodes, behind a struggling young Family Guy. (Side note: as if Family Guy and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire aren’t familiar names, rounding out God, the Devil and Bob’s competition on the Big Four was JAG, which would go on to spawn the NCIS franchise).

God, the Devil and Bob was pulled from the schedule after airing its fourth episode. This was a reversal of NBC’s previously-announced intention, which was to air at least six episodes and hold back the remaining seven, with it possibly being on the fall 2000 schedule (this was similar treatment to what Family Guy was receiving). However, God, the Devil and Bob never aired again on NBC, and reruns of Frasier would prove to be a modest improvement in the time slot in the spring.

Aftermath

Despite only airing four episodes on NBC, God, the Devil and Bob managed to be sold internationally, and reportedly did well. Among the most notable purchases was the UK’s BBC2, who aired it in a later time slot in 2001. Adult Swim picked up the rights to the series and aired the rest of the series in early 2011, and aired reruns into the following year.

Like the adult animated cartoons of the 1990s, God, the Devil and Bob proved to simply be a mismatch for the ABC/CBS/NBC audiences at the time. In 2019, the first season of Miracle Workers had much better reception with a similar premise on TBS.

God, the Devil and Bob is not available on a streaming service, but it can be streamed on Internet Archive or YouTube and digitally purchased on Prime Video. It can also be physically purchased on Amazon, as the complete season was released on DVD in 2005.