This week on the NBC Renew/Cancel, we take a final look at Stumble as it wraps its first season, and we take another look at Brilliant Minds following news about where it will air the remaining episodes of its second season. Plus, NBC Renew/Cancel March Madness kicks off for a third year!
Certain Cancellation:
Brilliant Minds (0.14, 0.11-0.18)
Leans Cancellation:
The Hunting Party (0.16, 0.10-0.22)
On Brand with Jimmy Fallon (0.17, 0.14-0.22)
Stumble (0.20, 0.11-0.61)
The Wall (0.16, 0.12-0.19)
Leans Renewal:
Law & Order (0.25, 0.20-0.27)
Likely Renewal:
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins (0.58, 0.28-1.38)
The Voice (0.29, 0.20-0.42)
Certain Renewal:
Chicago Fire (0.33, 0.29-0.39)
Chicago Med (0.34, 0.28-0.39)
Chicago PD (0.29, 0.25-0.34)
Dateline NBC (0.18, 0.15-0.20)
Law & Order: SVU (0.29, 0.21-0.33)
Saturday Night Live (0.64, 0.43-0.91)
Already Renewed:
Happy's Place (0.25, 0.18-0.33)
St. Denis Medical (0.31, 0.24-0.37)
Stumble: Last week, Stumble wrapped its first season, ending a thirteen-episode run that has been far from impressive. I don't think it would be fair to label the run as disastrous, but it's been just as unimpressive as one would've expected for a new NBC single-cam sitcom airing Fridays at 8:30 behind an incompatible multi-cam workplace sitcom. This show was never set up for success, and while NBC did attempt to help it find an audience, its time slot really capped its potential. While its 0.20 average isn't too bad for Friday standards (CBS's dramas are hardly doing better on the same night), this is a show that had some really ugly lows. It dropped as low as 0.11, and rated below that 0.20 average for ten of its thirteen episodes. The 0.61 post-Olympics average boosted its average noticeably, and it would've averaged 0.17 without it, narrowing the gap between it and the only two NBC shows with lower ratings, The Hunting Party and Brilliant Minds. NBC is famous for renewing struggling freshman comedies, but with three successful comedies now on the air (and two of them making for a very strong Monday night duo), I don't think they're in a position where they have to keep doing that. They have three new comedies in development, including a new single-cam sitcom from the creator of Brooklyn Nine-Nine that is actively casting and will film a pilot soon. They're also developing two new multi-cams, which feels like a clear attempt by NBC to rectify the mistake they made by launching such an incompatible show out of Happy's Place this season. Even if Reggie Dinkins only runs for limited seasons for its entire run, I don't see where NBC has room to air Stumble, and I don't think its ratings (or its streaming performance, if Peacock's top ten charts are at all accurate) have been nearly strong enough for them to bother trying to find a spot for it. Its post-Olympics ratings weren't so bad, but I think the show's fate really rests in the quality of NBC's pilots. If NBC likes Stumble more than the new single-cam pilot, then that will massively boost its chances, as it and Reggie Dinkins could share that post-St. Denis slot (repeats of Stumble have aired there, after all). NBC even keep it on Fridays if both multi-cam pilots are misfires, but that feels like a less likely option. It's definitely not impossible to imagine Stumble finding a place on NBC's schedule next year, but they definitely don't need it, and they're likely to prefer launching new comedies over renewing one that's already proven to have a limited following. It leans cancellation as it ends its first, and possibly only, season.
Brilliant Minds: We got some additional news on Brilliant Minds this week, as NBC confirmed it would be airing in the early parts of summer. It will return for its final episodes starting May 27, airing Wednesdays at 8 PM. I suppose it is good news for it that it's airing at all, and that it'll be on a weekday and not on a Saturday, as shows often did when they were burned off in summer. That's where the good news ends. Last year with Grosse Pointe Garden Society, NBC at least made an attempt to salvage it with a Friday night slot once the comedies wrapped up Happy's Place has just six episodes left, and NBC could've doubled up those episodes to end it earlier if they really wanted to make room for Brilliant Minds in-season. But NBC didn't do that, because they've clearly made up their minds. Brilliant Minds is not coming back, and its summer run will be the end of the series. NBC may delay a cancellation announcement until after the summer episodes air, but cancellation is bound to come eventually. It's a certain cancellation, as it has been since they announced it was being pulled.
NBC Renew/Cancel March Madness:
It's time for the return of an annual tradition for the NBC Renew/Cancel, our annual "March Madness" TV show tournament, which is back in action for the third year. Readers will again have the chance to vote and support their favorite shows on NBC, with the ultimate favorite being crowned at the end of four weeks of voting. Law & Order: SVU is the only show to win so far, being crowned the champion in both 2024 and 2025. This year, with twelve scripted shows on NBC's schedule, the four highest-rated series will receive a bye to the "Elite Eight," with the eight lowest-rated series all competing in matchups in the first round, St. Denis Medical, Law & Order: SVU, Chicago PD and Happy's Place are the higher-seeded series competing in the first round, while Law & Order, Stumble, The Hunting Party and Brilliant Minds are the lower seeds. Four will advance to the second round, taking on the likes of SNL, Reggie Dinkins, Chicago Med and Chicago Fire.
| The TV Ratings Guide | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | St. Denis Medical | Reggie Dinkins | The Voice | Brilliant Minds | ||
| Tues | NBA on NBC | |||||
| Wed | Chicago Med | Chicago Fire | Chicago PD | |||
| Thurs | Law & Order | Law & Order: SVU | The Hunting Party | |||
| Fri | Happy's Place | Stumble | Dateline NBC | |||
| Sat | Encores | |||||
| Sun | Sunday Night Basketball | |||||
