Fox won't be calling Kat up for a fourth season. The network has canceled the veteran comedy series Call Me Kat, less than 24 hours after the airing of its third season finale. The sitcom was Fox's lone series to receive a full 22-episode order this season, airing on Thursdays at 9:30 as part of Fox's single hour of live-action comedy. Though the show was in its third season, it was never a strong ratings performer, and it saw 40% declines in each of its last two seasons. Its 0.21 average this season made it broadcast's second-lowest-rated scripted series this season, ahead of only Grand Crew. The show likely also found itself in trouble as a Warner Bros. production - higher-rated shows like 9-1-1 and The Resident were canceled at least in part due to similar reasons, though they completed six-season runs (and 9-1-1 was saved by ABC). Call Me Kat was the final show to star Emmy winner Leslie Jordan, who died in October amid production of the third season. Mayim Bialik starred as the titular Kat, alongside Swoosie Kurtz, Cheyenne Jackson, Kyla Pratt and Julian Gant. Over the course of its run, Call Me Kat aired 53 episodes, the most for a Fox live action comedy since The Last Man on Earth.
Below are the latest renew/cancel predictions for the Fox network in the 2022-23 television season. The numbers listed in the table mark the Nielsen rating low, average, and high for each respective program in the Adults 18-49 demographic. The "Y2Y (year-to-year) Change" column denotes how much the series has risen or fallen when compared to its average from the previous season. Since the last update, a new series has debuted and been added to the chart. As always, only scripted programming will be taken into account in this column.
Animal Control: New sitcom 'Animal Control' debuted on Thursday, February 16th with a workable 0.31rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. Though this seems like an unremarkable launch, this rating is higher than every 'Call Me Kat' telecast from this season. In addition to that, it also beats every episode of 'Welcome To Flatch' that has aired on a Thursday evening. 'Animal Control' ultimately retained about 90% of its 'Next Level Chef' lead-in (0.35) and catapulted 'Call Me Kat' to its strongest performance in months. In comparison, 'Welcome To Flatch' often lost over 50% of its 'Hell's Kitchen' lead-in and closed out with a new season low on February 2nd (0.16). Given the Nielsen data that is currently available, 'Animal Control' is Likely to be Renewed. A 0.31 rating for a midseason sitcom premiere would be quite underwhelming on ABC or CBS, but this is a surprisingly decent start for a live-action comedy on Fox. This series is no monster hit and could easily crumble in the coming weeks, but it has enough life in it to start off on the right side of the bubble.
Call Me Kat: It is quite telling that 'Call Me Kat' (0.27) shot up to its highest rating since October the moment it got to air after something that wasn't 'Welcome To Flatch'. In terms of total viewers, this is the most-viewed episode of 'Kat' since May 2022. Because of this sudden surge, 'Call Me Kat' is now Likely to be Renewed. This sitcom has clearly been weighed down by 'Flatch' and can still hold its own when placed in better circumstances. Fox will likely want a full hour of Thursday comedy next season so something will have to be around to pair with 'Animal Control'. 'Kat' is noticeably stronger than 'Flatch' and is the only one of the two that received a full-season order. A fourth season renewal seems more likely than ever before.
Accused: Though it took an alarming 33% drop on January 31st, 'Accused' grew by 7% to a modest 0.32rating for its latest installment. This mild recovery is the reason why the drama remains Likely to be Renewed. It no longer looks as strong as it initially did, but this is a perfectly acceptable level for a program on the Fox network to be at.
Finals Update: The repeat of The Wall (+0.1) adjusted up. Hell's Kitchen (-0.1), Frozen II (-0.1), Call Me Kat (-0.2) and repeats of Welcome to Flatch (-0.2) and America's Funniest Home Videos (-0.1) adjusted down.
Finals Update: Hell's Kitchen (-0.1), Pickled (-0.1), Welcome to Flatch (-0.1), Call Me Kat (-0.1) and Law & Order: Organized Crime (-0.1) adjusted down.
Below are the latest renew/cancel predictions for the Fox network in the 2022-23 television season. The numbers listed in the table mark the Nielsen rating low, average, and high for each respective program in the Adults 18-49 demographic. Since the last update, 'The Resident', 'Call Me Kat', and 'Welcome To Flatch' have all posted new season highs. Only scripted programming will be taken into account in this column.
The Resident: 'The Resident' just aired its 100th episode on the Fox network and climbed to a new season high in the process. This serves as a major milestone for a series that often finds itself in the middle of the pack in terms of Nielsen ratings. The 0.38rating that the medical drama garnered on October 25th may not seem like much, but it was enough to make it the fourth highest-rated broadcast of the evening (only behind juggernauts like 'Bachelor in Paradise', 'FBI', and 'The Voice'). It's hard to imagine that a Fox drama outside of '9-1-1' (or its spinoff series '9-1-1: Lone Star') could perform this well against such stiff competition. This Amy Holden Jones creation is Likely to be Renewed as usual.
Call Me Kat: On October 24, comedian and actor Leslie Jordan sadly passed away in a car accident while on his way to film scenes for 'Call Me Kat'. Jordan played the character "Phil" in the Mayim Bialik sitcom and has been in every episode since the program's start. Production for 'Call Me Kat' reportedly stoppedfor the time being and it is currently unknown when it will resume. Seemingly as a result of what happened, 'Kat' surged to a 0.27 Nielsen rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic on the 27th. The comedy improved by nearly 30% from its 'Welcome To Flatch' lead-in and boasted a staggering 50% week-to-week increase. Nonetheless, it is still unlikely that 'Kat' will be back for season four. The death of a series regular does not bode well for the future of any program and the sudden growth is almost certainly due to the media attention surrounding Jordan's death. As the weeks progress, these new viewers will probably lose interest and the series will sink back to its normal level. 'Kat' is Likely to be Canceled as of October 29, 2022.
Welcome To Flatch: 'Call Me Kat' and 'The Resident' were not the only shows to hit a new season high this week. Struggling sitcom 'Welcome To Flatch' grew to a 0.21 on October 27th and tied its highest rating of all time. That sounds quite impressive due to the semantics, but this remains an extremely poor performance for a series on a big 4 network. Its 'Hell's Kitchen' lead-in (0.46) also soared to a new high at 8, meaning 'Flatch' retained a meager 45% of the Gordon Ramsay staple. 'Flatch' is once again Likely to be Canceled and has now fallen behind 'Kat' to become the lowest-rated program on the Fox network (Flatch has a 0.186 average that rounds up to a 0.19 while 'Kat' has grown to a 0.194).
