NBC has finally made their final renewal decision of the 2019-20 season, with the cancellation of Council of Dads coming earlier today. That means it's time for my 2019-20 season Renew/Cancel wrap-up. It was a long season, with final decisions arriving nearly two months later than usual, but it's finally over. Keep reading to see what my record for the season is, and read my thoughts on the season that was.Below is my full chart of predictions for the season, with every show placed exactly where I last left them before their fates were decided.
Church-set musical comedy Perfect Harmony has been canceled by NBC. Despite being the third-weakest scripted program on NBC, it ranked as NBC's top new comedy this season with a 0.42 average. However, the network has clearly decided that they don't need to bring back any of their new comedies, despite two of their veterans ending this season. Harmony debuted in September as part of the NBC fall lineup and ran thirteen episodes, having been capped due to star Bradley Whitford's schedule. Its series finale aired January 23. Alongside Whitford, Perfect Harmony stars Anna Camp, Rizwan Manji, Will Greenberg, Tymberlee Hill and Geno Segers. This was a correct prediction for The TV Ratings Guide.
It's time for the final NBC renew/cancel of the season! I've made a lot of ratings changes over the season, but it all comes down to this final update. I've dissected these shows over the past 20 weeks, and will give each one a final write-up. Plus, Council of Dads enters the scene to get an initial, maybe final, maybe not, prediction.
The NBC Renew/Cancel is nearing its end for the 2019-20 season, but that doesn't mean there aren't any new predictions to come. Keep on reading to see what show (or shows) will be moving this week!
This week on the NBC Renew/Cancel, I take another look at one of the key parts of NBC's Sunday night lineup. Keep reading to see what's in store for Good Girls this week!
Certain Cancellation:
Perfect Harmony (0.4)
Likely Cancellation:
Bluff City Law (0.6)
Indebted (0.4)
Leans Cancellation:
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For the Bone Collector (0.5)
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (0.4)
Leans Renewal:
Manifest (0.7)
Likely Renewal: Good Girls (0.4)
Certain Renewal:
Saturday Night Live (1.3)
Already Renewed:
The Blacklist
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Chicago Fire
Chicago Med
Chicago PD
Law & Order: SVU
New Amsterdam
Superstore
This Is Us
Already Canceled/Final Season:
Blindspot
The Good Place
Sunnyside
Will & Grace
Coming Soon:
Council of Dads
Good Girls: It's hard to look at the 0.44 average that Good Girls has thus far and argue that that's strong, but I certainly don't think it's very weak considering the circumstances. NBC's new Sunday lineup is a disaster (to put it lightly), and Good Girls' recent 0.5s in the notably harsh 10 PM slot is actually higher than what Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist is doing at 9. Growing from your lead-in isn't very easy, but Good Girls is doing it on a pretty regular basis. NBC will probably want some sort of consistency on the Sunday lineup next year, and Good Girls is the easy pick for that. It's a heavily serialized show in its third season with a pretty big Netflix deal, and cancelling it without a proper ending (and in a season shortened by the COVID-19 outbreak, no less) doesn't seem like a strong financial decision. It's the argument I've made to justify a renewal last year and all year this year, but I really have a hard time seeing NBC cancelling this one. There's too much upside to renewing it. I'm upgrading it to a LIKELY RENEWAL.
What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to vote in the poll of the week!
In the past week, NBC has seen some additional ratings increases and they've debuted another new show. Keep reading to see what I have to say about Council of Dads, plus an update on one of their other new shows from the 2019-20 season.
Certain Cancellation:
Perfect Harmony (0.4)
Likely Cancellation:
Bluff City Law (0.6)
Indebted (0.4)
Leans Cancellation:
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For the Bone Collector (0.5)
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (0.4)
Leans Renewal:
Good Girls (0.4)
Manifest (0.7)
Likely Renewal:
N/A
Certain Renewal:
Saturday Night Live (1.3)
Already Renewed:
The Blacklist
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Chicago Fire
Chicago Med
Chicago PD
Law & Order: SVU
New Amsterdam
Superstore
This Is Us
Already Canceled/Final Season:
Blindspot
The Good Place
Sunnyside
Will & Grace
Coming Soon:
Council of Dads
Indebted: Last week, NBC's newest sitcom entry jumped a tenth to what was easily a new series high. Unfortunately, that series high is still a 0.5. The show doesn't have terrible retention from Will & Grace, holding onto 76% of that show's average (with a season average that's 0.12 lower than W&G), but with Will & Grace so low to begin with, it needs to do more than that. 0.5 isn't a terrible number for an NBC comedy, and it's actually the second-highest number any NBC newbie has hit season year so far, but I don't think it's going to be enough considering that Sony distributes and co-produces the show. NBC may end up giving a pity renewal to a newbie this season (none of their newbies have actually earned it), but I have real doubts that it'll be this one. Unless it really jumps in the coming weeks, it's still a LIKELY CANCELLATION.
Council of Dads: As with Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist earlier this season, it's too early for me to give Council of Dads a prediction at this point. Its premiere rating was awful, but it wasn't in its regular timeslot and therefore I'm not giving it a prediction. It will wait for a prediction until after it premieres at the end of April.
What do you think of my predictions? Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to vote in the poll of the week!
This week on the NBC Renew/Cancel, the focus is on the most recent NBC show to air its finale, Lincoln Rhyme! Keep reading to see if it's on the move and how I feel about its renewal odds!
Certain Cancellation:
Perfect Harmony (0.4)
Likely Cancellation:
Bluff City Law (0.6)
Indebted (0.3)
Leans Cancellation: Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For the Bone Collector (0.5)
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (0.4)
Leans Renewal:
Good Girls (0.4)
Manifest (0.7)
Likely Renewal:
N/A
Certain Renewal:
Saturday Night Live (1.3)
Already Renewed:
The Blacklist
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Chicago Fire
Chicago Med
Chicago PD
Law & Order: SVU
New Amsterdam
Superstore
This Is Us
Already Canceled/Final Season:
Blindspot
The Good Place
Sunnyside
Will & Grace
Coming Soon:
Council of Dads
Lincoln Rhyme: It's not been a successful season for NBC in the freshman department, with all of its shows averaging 0.56 or lower and only one new shows yet to premiere. At this point, it seems like NBC will either cancel all of their new shows from this season or give one of them a "pity renewal." Previously, I believed that that show would be Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. They threw a ton of promotion behind the show and boasted it as a massive online hit. They truly seemed to be behind the show. However, as that show has slipped as low as 0.3, I'm starting to think that Lincoln Rhyme is their best shot at renewing a newbie. It hit a 0.6 for the first half of its finale, tying the series premiere, and hit a 0.5 at 9. That's in-line with The Blacklist (which has been renewed) and arguably the most "impressive" performance of any of this season's NBC freshmen series. I still lean toward thinking that they'll cancel them all, because they don't really need any of these shows, but Lincoln Rhyme would be a decent pick to give a reprieve to. It could easily fill the same role next season that it did this year, airing Fridays in winter to give The Blacklist some time off. This is the lowest risk renewal of all the NBC newbies, and it now LEANS CANCELLATION.
What do you think of my predictions? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to vote in the poll of the week!
It's time for a new NBC Renew/Cancel! This week, we take a closer look at one of NBC's midseason dramas that hasn't gotten much coverage here this season, Manifest. Keep reading for an update on it and to see if it's on the move!
Certain Cancellation:
Perfect Harmony (0.4)
Likely Cancellation:
Bluff City Law (0.6)
Indebted (0.3)
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For the Bone Collector (0.5)
Already Renewed:
The Blacklist
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Chicago Fire
Chicago Med
Chicago PD
Law & Order: SVU
New Amsterdam
Superstore
This Is Us
Already Canceled/Final Season:
Blindspot
The Good Place
Sunnyside
Will & Grace
Coming Soon:
Council of Dads
Manifest: This week, NBC's #1 yet-to-be-renewed Sunday through Friday show (not that that's saying much, considering that all of their strongest shows have been renewed) tied its series low. Usually that wouldn't be terribly concerning. After all, every show has to hit or tie a low at some point and the world doesn't end because of it. In this case, though, it's a little worrying. It last hit a 0.6 behind AGT Champions, and while that show is a solid part of the schedule, The Voice is a good deal stronger. Manifest is being given one of the best lead-ins afforded to a drama on all of broadcast, and it's not delivering. It even hit a 0.5 in the second half of this week's episode, meaning this episode is almost certainly a new low (its previous unrounded low is a 0.62) barring some sort of upward adjustment in finals. 0.5s in this slot were enough to end Bluff City Law's run after ten episodes, and NBC owned that show. Manifest still has a path to renewal, but there's also a real case for cancellation here, especially on a network as packed as NBC. It LEANS RENEWAL, but I'll be watching it closely, because a downgrade may be in store.
What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to vote in the poll of the week!
A show that flew completely under the radar takes the headline this week on the NBC Renew/Cancel. Keep reading for an update on Bluff City Law and more NBC shows, and see if anything is on the move.
Certain Cancellation:
Perfect Harmony (0.4)
Likely Cancellation: Bluff City Law (0.6)
Indebted (0.4)
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For the Bone Collector (0.5)
Already Renewed:
The Blacklist
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Chicago Fire
Chicago Med
Chicago PD
Law & Order: SVU
New Amsterdam
Superstore
This Is Us
Already Canceled/Final Season:
Blindspot
The Good Place
Sunnyside
Will & Grace
Coming Soon:
Council of Dads
Bluff City Law: Getting the headline this week is a show that I haven't spoken about in months. Bluff City Law was NBC's only new fall drama this year, launching behidn The Voice on Mondays. When it premiered, the show seemed to be a massive flop with only a 0.8 behind a 1.7 from The Voice. It eventually sank all the way down to a 0.56 average, which is (somehow) enough to be NBC's top new show this season. The show didn't receive any additional episode despite scripts being ordered, which made it seem like it was almost certainly dead and buried. It's still basically in that situation. However, with a writer's strike potentially happening and six episodes already written for the show never having been filmed, there is a remote chance that they could renew it if they're truly desperate for content. I doubt that very much, but just to be safe, I'm moving the show to a LIKELY CANCELLATION.
What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to vote in the poll of the week!
Thursday night means it's time for another new NBC Renew/Cancel! Just hours ahead of posting, NBC went ahead and renewed its entire slate of Dick Wolf shows! That leaves me with four less shows to make predictions for. But there's still plenty left to discuss, so keep reading to see which, if any, shows are on the move this time.
Certain Cancellation:
Bluff City Law (0.6)
Perfect Harmony (0.4)
Likely Cancellation:
Indebted (0.4)
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For the Bone Collector (0.5)
Already Renewed:
The Blacklist
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Chicago Fire
Chicago Med
Chicago PD
Law & Order: SVU
New Amsterdam
Superstore
This Is Us
Already Canceled/Final Season:
Blindspot
The Good Place
Sunnyside
Will & Grace
Coming Soon:
Council of Dads
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist: I was pretty harsh on this show last week, and for good reason. A 0.4 for its timeslot debut is heinous. However, the week two uptick, even if it's just because it had a mildly better lead-in, is encouraging. With a 0.49 average so far, it is somehow the #2 new show on NBC this season, behind Bluff City Law. NBC seems far more supportive of it than Bluff, and even more supportive than #3 show Lincoln Rhyme, which they've essentially begun to ignore. It's not typical that you see a network cancel all of their new shows, and nothing else really seems to be renewable either this season. Their only new show yet to premiere, Council of Dads, just got an April 30th premiere date, showing that it's a complete afterthought for them. At this point I actually think Zoey has a solid shot at renewal, and I'm upgrading it to LEANS CANCELATION. I'll be watching it in the weeks to come to see if it warrants another upgrade.
Law & Order: SVU, Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD: Today, NBC gave these four shows a massive display of support, handing all of them three more seasons on the air. It's not something you see very often, but it's a strategy NBC has tried out twice previously. I expected all to be renewed, and I had them all listed as certain renewals, but the length of their pickups was definitely a surprise. NBC seems to be starting a trend in renewing its strongest shows for three seasons at a time, and it'll be interesting to see which (if any) of their shows they'll use this strategy on next. Whether they do it again or not, I won't be making any predictions for these four shows for quite some time.
What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to vote in the poll of the week.
Since our last update, NBC has begun to roll out their new Sunday night lineup, starting with the two scripted shows in the lineup, Good Girls and Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. Keep reading for the initial predictions for both shows.
Certain Cancellation:
Bluff City Law (0.6)
Perfect Harmony (0.4)
Likely Cancellation:
Indebted (0.4)
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For the Bone Collector (0.5) Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (0.5)
Leans Cancellation:
N/A
Leans Renewal: Good Girls (0.4)
Likely Renewal:
Manifest (0.7)
Certain Renewal:
Chicago Fire (1.2)
Chicago PD (1.1)
Chicago Med (1.1)
Law & Order: SVU (0.7)
Saturday Night Live (1.3)
Already Renewed:
The Blacklist
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
New Amsterdam
Superstore
This Is Us
Already Canceled/Final Season:
Blindspot
The Good Place
Sunnyside
Will & Grace
Coming Soon:
Council of Dads
Good Girls: This is a tough one, as the ratings and the fundamentals tell a different story. A 0.4 for the premiere is never a good sign, especially when it's a 0.38. However, its lead-in was excruciatingly awful and it's airing in one of the worst timeslots on TV. That doesn't mean NBC is jumping for joy over a 0.4, but there's bigger fish for them to fry this season (like the parade of newbies hitting 0.4 or even lower in better slots). The show also has a Netflix deal that's probably responsible for it even surviving this long. I can't see them canceling the show without some sort of pre-planned conclusion given that deal. However, it received three additional episodes last year, which makes me wonder if that was NBC's way to give them time to wrap up the show. I lean towards believing they would've announced that with the three-episode pickup, but it gives me enough pause to place it only at LEANS RENEWAL.
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist: NBC seems to love this show, promoting it hard, boasting about the YouTube views of its pilot, and giving it a post-This Is Us preview before its official debut last month. I said in January after it debuted that I'd wait to assess it until after it premiered. Well, the premiere is finally here and it was even more awful than its preview suggested it would be. With a 0.4 start, it's one of the lowest Big Four newbie debuts this season (along with fellow NBC series Sunnyside and Indebted and CBS drama Tommy). It's a Lionsgate/Universal co-production, which probably doesn't help its case very much. Even being a network favorite probably can't justify it being renewed for another season with ratings this low. If anything, fans should hope for a season two pickup on NBC's new streaming service, Peacock. It starts out as a LIKELY CANCELLATION.
The Blacklist: Another week, another NBC renewal. This time it's a miss for me, as The Blacklist had been in the "leans cancellation" category all season. I was waiting to see if NBC would announce the current season as the final one before it returned from hiatus before upgrading it. My guy feeling that they'd end it this season turned out to be wrong. We'll see how things turn out next year.
What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to vote in the poll of the week!
After a week off, the NBC Renew/Cancel returns with a prediction for NBC's newest show. Keep reading to see where Indebted will land, plus analysis of NBC's most recently renewed show.
Certain Cancellation:
Bluff City Law (0.6)
Perfect Harmony (0.4)
Likely Cancellation: Indebted (0.4)
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For the Bone Collector (0.5)
Leans Cancellation:
The Blacklist (0.5)
Leans Renewal:
N/A
Likely Renewal:
Manifest (0.7)
Certain Renewal:
Chicago Fire (1.2)
Chicago PD (1.1)
Chicago Med (1.1)
Law & Order: SVU (0.7)
Saturday Night Live (1.3)
Already Renewed:
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
New Amsterdam
Superstore
This Is Us
Already Canceled/Final Season:
Blindspot
The Good Place
Sunnyside
Will & Grace
Coming Soon:
Council of Dads
Good Girls
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist
Indebted: Fran Drescher returned to TV last week with Indebted, the newest part of NBC's comedy Thursday lineup. As expected due to the terrible ratings across the lineup, it did not get off to a strong start. It's 0.5 Will & Grace lead-in didn't exactly give it much support, but its 0.4 start is on-par with Sunnyside (and even lower in unrounded) and lower than Perfect Harmony. It's not even fully owned by NBC (it's a Sony co-production, with Sony having the distribution rights), meaning it probably doesn't help its case to get a pity renewal. In a season where every new show on NBC is a massive flop, it's hard to say a show that premiered just a week ago is certain to get the axe, so it'll start out as just a LIKELY CANCELLATION.
Superstore: Since the last update, Superstore became the second part of the NBC comedy lineup to get a renewal. It's one of the few NBC comedies to perform respectively, so this was a pretty clear decision and easily a correct prediction.
What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to vote in the poll of the week!
On this week's NBC renew/cancel, the focus turns to the network's longest-running drama. Keep reading to see what's in store this week for Law & Order: SVU and the rest of NBC's lineup.
Certain Cancellation:
Bluff City Law (0.6)
Perfect Harmony (0.4)
Likely Cancellation:
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For the Bone Collector (0.5)
Leans Cancellation:
The Blacklist (0.5)
Leans Renewal:
N/A
Likely Renewal:
Manifest (0.7)
Certain Renewal:
Chicago Fire (1.2)
Chicago PD (1.1)
Chicago Med (1.2) Law & Order: SVU (0.7)
Saturday Night Live (1.3)
Superstore (0.7)
Already Renewed:
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
New Amsterdam
This Is Us
Already Canceled/Final Season:
Blindspot
The Good Place
Sunnyside
Will & Grace
Coming Soon:
Council of Dads
Good Girls
Indebted
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist
Law & Order: SVU: It's been a rough season for NBC's Thursday lineup, but SVU has always been one of the very few bright spots. As shows like Sunnyside and Perfect Harmony completely bomb in front of it and the other veteran shows decline, SVU has continued to routinely grow from its lead-ins and is consistently leading the 10 PM pack. If it was a show earlier in its run achieving this, it would've been a certain renewal for far longer. However, as I previously stated, SVU is the longest-running drama on NBC (and all of primetime television). Eventually, no matter how impressively it's performing, it has to end eventually. At this point, I think it's pretty unlikely that this will be the season. I find it hard to believe that NBC will unceremoniously cancel it in May given how much it means to them and how close of a relationship they have with creator Dick Wolf. This is the type of show that goes out with a big, previously-announced final season. They still have time to announce it as ending before May, but I still feel confident enough that it'll be back to upgrade it to a CERTAIN RENEWAL.
Superstore: Despite some weaker data points since it's returned from hiatus this month, SUperstore remains NBC's #1 comedy by a comfortable margin. It's also had the smallest year-to-year decline of any part of the Thursday lineup. While it may not be a huge hit by broadcast standards, it's a big performer for an NBC comedy. Its recent weak 0.7s don't deter me from keeping it as a CERTAIN RENEWAL.
What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to vote in the poll of the week!
There was so much going on with NBC last week that I didn't even get a chance to discuss one of the shows that premiered since our sixth update. That changes this week, as the focus is on Lincoln Rhyme this time around. Keep reading for an update on that show plus a prediction change and analysis on another!
Certain Cancellation:
Bluff City Law (0.6) Perfect Harmony (0.4)
Likely Cancellation: Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For the Bone Collector (0.5)
Leans Cancellation:
The Blacklist (0.5)
Leans Renewal:
N/A
Likely Renewal:
Law & Order: SVU (0.7)
Manifest (0.7)
Certain Renewal:
Chicago Fire (1.2)
Chicago PD (1.1)
Chicago Med (1.2)
Saturday Night Live (1.3)
Superstore (0.7)
Already Renewed:
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
New Amsterdam
This Is Us
Already Canceled/Final Season:
Blindspot
The Good Place
Sunnyside
Will & Grace
Coming Soon:
Council of Dads
Good Girls
Indebted
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For the Bone Collector: It wasn't a very high rating, but the 0.6 that NBC's newest show premiered to was pretty impressive given that it felt like a textbook burnoff. It showed that there was genuine interest in the show. I was optimistic that it had a shot at renewal. Then it dropped two tenths in week two despite NBC trying its hardest to keep people interested in it (including a post-football repeat the day after it premiered). I find it hard to believe that things will get better from here, save for a potential one-tenth uptick on a random week, and I think they'd prefer to bring back The Blacklist or move something new to Fridays than renew a show that'll be hitting a 0.4 at maximum. It's already moving to a LIKELY CANCELLATION.
Perfect Harmony: I gave it an upgrade a few updates ago, but I now see that my initial instinct was clearly the right one. I had it as a CERTAIN CANCELLATION from week one, and it's back down to that this week after hitting a 0.28 last week. One data point isn't enough to kill a show, but this one has consistently rated terribly and is just getting worse. Sunnyside was pulled after a higher rating (it would then hit the 0.28 the week after NBC announced it was pulled, its final airing on the network). This show is done.
What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to vote in the poll of the week!
NBC was mostly quiet in fall, with most of its shows either being clear renewals or clear cancellations. However, things are finally getting interesting now as multiple new shows enter the fray, including sophomore Manifest and newbie Lincoln Rhyme. Keep reading for initial predictions and analysis of these shows, and a few others.
Certain Cancellation:
Bluff City Law (0.6)
Likely Cancellation:
Perfect Harmony (0.4)
Leans Cancellation:
The Blacklist (0.5) Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For the Bone Collector (0.6)
Leans Renewal:
N/A
Likely Renewal:
Law & Order: SVU (0.7) Manifest (0.8)
Certain Renewal:
Chicago Fire (1.2)
Chicago PD (1.1)
Chicago Med (1.2)
Saturday Night Live (1.3)
Superstore (0.7)
Already Renewed:
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
New Amsterdam
This Is Us
Already Canceled/Final Season:
Blindspot
The Good Place
Sunnyside
Will & Grace
Coming Soon:
Council of Dads
Good Girls
Indebted
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist
Manifest: It was one of the biggest new shows of the previous season, but Manifest was always going to be in a difficult position in season two. It didn't make the fall schedule and thus spent nearly a year off the air, which isn't usually very helpful for such a serialized show such as this one. Considering how frontloaded season one was, it was never going to come close to its first season average this time around. However, it's performing pretty respectfully out of a heavily down AGT: The Champions, and is currently averaging a 0.8, higher than fall freshman flop Bluff City Law and higher than all but three 10 PM shows on broadcast. This is a show that tends to drop as the season goes along, so it could easily find itself pulling cancel-worth numbers in a few months. However, for right now, I don't know if NBC would want to let it go. It enters as a LIKELY RENEWAL.
New Amsterdam: NBC renewed its This Is Us lead-out show this week for three additional seasons. I was expecting a renewal, though I will admit that I didn't see such a pickup coming for the show. It would've started next season as a certain renewal, and is a correct prediction for this season.
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist: Even though it's already premiered, I won't be giving Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist a prediction until its timeslot premiere in February. I don't think that a preview a month ahead of the actual premiere on a night that hasn't aired is a good indicator of how it will actually perform.
What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to vote in the poll of the week!
