Fox Cancels Outmatched

The only new live-action comedy on Fox this season, Outmatched, will be one-and-done. The sitcom debuted January 23 to modest numbers, but solid retention from Last Man Standing. It dropped in subsequent weeks and averaged 0.56 in the end, well below the 2019-20 league average, and enough for Fox to pull the plug after a single season. It is the second new sitcom in a row to be canceled after one season after airing behind Last Man Standing. Maggie Lawson, Jason Biggs, Tisha Campbell, Finesse Mitchell and Ashley Bottcher stared in the series, about two parents in Atlantic City raising children who are geniuses. The series finale aired March 26. This was a correct prediction for The TV Ratings Guide.

FOX Renew/Cancel: Outmatched is Certain to be Canceled, A Final Call on The Resident

Welcome to the latest installment of FOX Renew/Cancel and a lot has happened over the past few weeks. Before I get to the predictions, two pieces of news happened. Deputy was canceled (a correct prediction) and Duncanville was renewed (an incorrect prediction). If that doesn't solidify that FOX is ramping up on animation, then I may have to readjust for next season. Until then, here are the predictions. 

Show	Prediction
9-1-1	Certain Renewal
9-1-1: Lone Star	Certain Renewal
Bob’s Burgers	Certain Renewal
Family Guy	Certain Renewal
Last Man Standing	Leans Renewal
Prodigal Son	Leans Renewal
The Resident	Leans Cancelation
Outmatched	Certain Cancelation
The Moodys	Certain Cancelation
Almost Family	Canceled
Deputy	Canceled
Bless the Harts	Renewed
Duncanville	Renewed
The Simpsons	Renewed
Empire	Final Season

Outmatched: First on the headline is Outmatched. Outmatched has been downgraded to certain to be canceled this installment for many reasons. The main thing being that there is limited space on live action comedies. Given that animated comedies are ramping up in development at FOX, there's only one live action comedy likely to come to FOX next season. Even with a disrupted pilot season, I don't think FOX needs Outmatched by any means. Case in point, it only got 10 episodes for a midseason comedy instead of the typical 13. That likely signals a lack of faith in the show by a network standpoint. And borderline ratings are clearly not going to be enough for a post-Last Man Standing comedy. That is, unless you are an animated comedy. 

The Resident: All season long, TVRG has debated over the ownership status and how it affects third season shows. Although deep down, I still think there is a glimmer of hope that disrupted pilot season gives it a chance for next season. However, that hope has been diminished. Let's face it here. The Resident ranks 9th out of 15 scripted shows. It's also ranked 4th out of 6 scripted dramas. Plus, like Last Man Standing, FOX does not own the show. Also, The Resident rates below the FOX scripted average. There are a lot of factors that work against The Resident as historically, FOX has canceled third season shows due to expenses, low/borderline ratings, lack of ownership stake, or a combination of all three. It's not necessarily rare for that network as of late. Plus, The Resident does not have three full seasons. Last season, FOX canceled every single scripted show that was below the FOX scripted average (except for The Orville which has moved to Hulu). So no, it is not totally, utterly wrong to point out ratings facts. It is not totally, utterly wrong to explain all the factors against it. I would debate it further but this is the final call. Maybe some people should focus on other things instead of bashing other people for pointing out things that contradict the narrative and accusing other medical shows for copying the show itself (which there is no empirical evidence of to the contrary). And just because a show has a cancelation prediction does not mean I do not like the show itself. 

What do you think about this installment's predictions? Sound off in the comments below! 

FOX Renew/Cancel: Except for 9-1-1: Lone Star, Every Midseason Newbie is Likely to be Canceled

Welcome to a brand new installment of FOX Renew/Cancel. It's been a while, and many newbies have premiered. Here are the current predictions, as of February 18. 

Show	Prediction
9-1-1	Certain Renewal
Bob’s Burgers	Certain Renewal
Family Guy	Certain Renewal
9-1-1: Lone Star	Likely Renewal
Last Man Standing	Likely Renewal
Prodigal Son	Leans Renewal
The Resident	Leans Renewal
Deputy	Likely Cancelation
Duncanville	Likely Cancelation
Outmatched	Likely Cancelation
The Moodys	Certain Cancelation
Almost Family	Canceled
Bless the Harts	Renewed
The Simpsons	Renewed
Empire	Final Season

9-1-1: Lone Star: The 9-1-1 spinoff has managed to post decent numbers in the 8pm hour. Although later numbers are not quite as strong as the parent show, 9-1-1, the show has managed to remain comfortably among the top rated scripted shows on FOX. We're going to predict the show as a likely renewal, because FOX ultimately has bigger fish to fry, which is probably why I'm holding Prodigal Son in the leans renewal category (although this may not last long).

Deputy: Deputy ratings started out okay, but kept on falling and has now settled at a 0.5. This is only a plausible renewal number if this were an animated comedy. But this is a drama, and FOX has higher standards than this. FOX will be looking for space in next season, so Deputy is likely to be canceled.

Duncanville: If this aired in the fall, this would have a good chance of getting renewed for the Amy Poehler factor. However, Duncanville's 0.5 premiere leaves it little room to fall. Also, getting outrated by Bob's Burgers and Family Guy is not a great sign. It starts out in the likely cancelation category. The Great North is waiting from the bench.

Outmatched: Another post-Last Man Standing comedy is likely to get the ax. Outmatched's 0.5 rating brings out okay retention from Last Man Standing, but FOX has limited real estate on live action multi-cams. Remember The Cool Kids? It was averaging in the 0.6-0.7 range in the spring on Friday. It was canned due to space, and WWE's Friday Night SmackDown. Outmatched is no different. It's likely to be canceled.

Last Man Standing: Speaking of Last Man Standing, ratings are considerably down for the show this season. The revival hype has faded, and it has settled into 0.7-0.8 territory. Still somewhat solid for FOX, but this is an unowned comedy now that 21st Century Television is a Disney property. It's too late in its run to move back to ABC. But regardless, I think FOX will likely renew it for at least one more season. Maybe a trial run post Masked Singer could help. I don't know, but your guess is as good as mine.

What do you think about the current predictions? Sound off in the comments below!

Outmatched Ratings--Season 1 (Spring 2020)