Executives at CBS, NBC, Fox, ABC, and The CW have a month and a half of big decisions ahead of them.
April showers give way to May flowers, and April meetings among broadcast-television executives often give way to May renewals and cancellations of existing series. With so many shows currently sans such a decision, we’ll get plenty cancellation/renewal news this month as well. (More so the latter, networks are keen to keep the cancellations quiet for as long as possible ahead of May’s upfronts when broadcasters reveal their upcoming fall schedules as well as new shows.)
IndieWire is a bit early to the game this year, but there’s already been a few broadcast TV shows scrapped. Among them, however, were some preplanned decisions like the ending of NBC’s “This Is Us,” CBS’ “Bull” and ABC’s “Black-ish.” But then there is ABC’s “Promised Land,” which (briefly, on ABC at least) followed two Latinx families vying for wealth and power in California’s Sonoma Valley. “Promised Land” performed so unpromisingly that it was banished to the predominantly Disney-owned Hulu (Comcast’s NBCUniversal still owns 33 percent of the SVOD service) after airing just a few episodes on the Disney-owned broadcast network. Hey, maybe Hulu will want a second serving of that fine wine!
Several series on the respective “TBD” portions of our list, which is broken down by broadcaster, are shoo-ins for new seasons. Those announcements just haven’t happened yet for any number of reasons, including – but not limited to – ongoing contractual negotiations between networks, studios, casts, and creators. Or maybe they just haven’t gotten around to it yet.
For a few Fox examples, in no world would a hit series like “9-1-1” not return next year – we’re just not there yet. This story has been written with the intention that we will update it as each decision comes down from a network’s conference room to the press.
You’ll notice we only focused on scripted series here. Sans a handful of perennial reality standouts like CBS’ “Survivor,” which has been officially renewed for Season 43, unscripted programming kind of does its own thing on its own schedule. Yeah, the TV business can be a real mess.
“Bob Hearts Abishola” on CBS
WARNER BROS.
CBS
Renewed: “NCIS” (for Season 20), “NCIS: Los Angeles” (for Season 14), “NCIS: Hawai’i” (for Season 2), “Bob Hearts Abishola” (for Season 4), “CSI: Vegas” (for Season 2), “Ghosts” (for Season 2), “The Neighborhood” (for Season 5), and “Young Sheldon” (for Season 5)
Cancelled/Ending: “Bull” (after six seasons)
TBD: “FBI” (currently on Season 4) “FBI: International” (on Season 1), “FBI: Most Wanted” (on Season 3), “Magnum P.I.” (on Season 4), “The Equalizer” (on Season 2), “Blue Bloods” (on Season 12), “United States of Al” (on Season 2), “S.W.A.T.” (on Season 5), and “B Positive” (on Season 2)
Don’t lose sleep over “FBI” being “TBD” here. No bull, it’ll be back. “Bull,” on the other hand, will not.
In January, “Bull” star Michael Weatherly announced via his social media channels that his CBS drama, based on the early career of (and produced by) TV’s “Dr. Phil,” would be ending with Season 6.
“Hello all! It’s been my privilege to play Dr. Jason Bull but after 6 seasons of incredible storylines, I’ve decided it’s time to pursue new creative challenges and bring his story to a close,” Weatherly wrote at the time. “It has been an honor to work with this talented cast, crew, and writing/producing team who helped reinvent the legal drama. Stay tuned for a big series finish…Thanks to all the fans from the bottom of my heart. You will always be a part of our ‘Bull’ family!”
“Grand Crew” on NBC
NBC
Renewed: “New Amsterdam” (for fifth and final season), “Chicago Med” (for Season 8), “Chicago Fire” (for Season 11), “Chicago P.D.” for (Season 10), “The Blacklist” (for Season 10), and “La Brea” (for Season 2)
Cancelled/Ending: “This Is Us” (after six seasons), “The Thing About Pam” (limited series), and “Ordinary Joe” (after one season)
TBD: “Law & Order” (currently on Season 21), “Law & Order: SVU” (on Season 23), “Law & Order: Organized Crime” (on Season 2), “Endgame” (on Season 1), “Transplant” (on Season 2; renewed for third season on CTV), “American Auto” (on Season 1), “Grand Crew” (on Season 1), “Young Rock” (on Season 2), and “Mr. Mayor” (on Season 2)
“This Is Us” always had a six-season plan and stuck to it; soon, creator Dan Fogelberg hopes to stick the landing. “The Thing About Pam” is based on the true-crime story about Pam Hupp’s involvement in the murder of Betsy Faria, so that one always had an ending – and thus a reason for ending after one season. “Ordinary Joe” has no such excuse.
Bet money on the “Law & Order” shows returning. As NBC has learned from its “One Chicago” dramas and CBS has observed from its own “FBI” franchise: you always bet on Dick Wolf.
“9-1-1: Lone Star” on Fox
CR: Jack Zeman/FOX
Fox
Renewed: “Bob’s Burgers” (for Season 13), “Duncanville” (for Season 3), “Family Guy” (for Season 20), “Housebroken” (for Season 2), “The Great North” (for Season 3), “The Simpsons” (for Season 34), and “Fantasy Island” (for Season 2)
Cancelled/Ending: “The Big Leap” (after one season)
TBD: “9-1-1” (currently on Season 5), “9-1-1: Lone Star” (on Season 3), “The Cleaning Lady” (on Season 1), “Call Me Kat” (on Season 2), “Our Kind of People” (on Season 1), “Pivoting” (on Season 1), “The Resident” (on Season 5), and “Welcome to Flatch” (on Season 1)
Animation can run forever, apparently – perhaps Fox should’ve actually developed “The Big Leap” as a cartoon. On second thought, that would have only made that scripted show about an unscripted show in which the performers put on a scripted play (we know, how did that not work?!?) even more confusing.
With Gordon Ramsay and some “Masked” competitions, Fox is fairly heavy on – and successful with – unscripted programming (and then there’s the sports programming, but that’s for a whole ‘nother story). While CBS, NBC, and ABC all schedule primetime from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., Fox and The CW do not program the 10 o’clock hour, which means they don’t need as many series (or at least as many hours) as the other networks.
“The Wonder Years” on ABC
ABC
ABC
Renewed: Abbott Elementary (for Season 2), “The Rookie” (for Season 5), “Station 19” (for Season 6), “The Good Doctor” (for Season 6), and “Grey’s Anatomy” (for Season 19)
Cancelled/Ending: “Black-ish” (after Season 8) and “Promised Land” (moved to Hulu midway through Season 1; a second season there is TBD)
TBD: “The Conners” (“Roseanne” continuation currently on its fourth season), “Home Economics” (on Season 2), “The Goldbergs” (on Season 9), “The Wonder Years” (reboot on Season 1), “Queens” (on Season 1), “A Million Little Things” (on Season 4), and “Big Sky” (on Season 2)
“Abbott Elementary” has proven to be an excellent comedy, probably the best ABC has seen since “Modern Family.” “Station 19” and “The Good Doctor” are still going strong, and the fact that “Grey’s Anatomy” has successfully avoided Ellen Pompeo ending the long-running medical drama for this long is definitely a good thing.
The future of “The Goldbergs” is not looking as golden. In December, star Jeff Garlin’s role was significantly reduced due to HR complaints about workplace behavior, including unwanted hugging and off-color/profane jokes. The following month ABC added four additional episodes to its ninth season, bringing the total to 22 episodes.
ABC Entertainment (and Hulu originals) chief Craig Erwich denied to this reporter that the backorder was evidence of “The Goldbergs” being retooled to wrap up with its current season. “We had an opportunity for more episodes,” he said at the time. “The show is doing really well. It was purely a scheduling decision.”
“All American: Homecoming” on The CW
Bill Inoshita/The CW
The CW
Renewed: “All American” (for Season 5), “The Flash” (for Season 9), “Kung Fu” (for Season 3), “Nancy Drew” (for Season 4), “Riverdale” (for Season 7), “Superman & Lois” (for Season 3), and “Walker” (for Season 3)
Cancelled/Ending: N/A
TBD: “4400″ (currently on Season 1), “All American: Homecoming” (on Season 1), “Batwoman” (on Season 3), “Charmed” (reboot on Season 4), “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” (on Season 7), “Dynasty” (on Season 5), “In the Dark” (on Season 4, though that does not yet have a premiere date), “Legacies” (on Season 4), “Naomi” (on Season 1), and “Roswell, New Mexico” (on Season 4, though that does not yet have a premiere date)
As of now, The CW has not cancelled any of its shows. That is fairly typical for the youngest-skewing (and most digital-skewing, which goes hand in hand) broadcast network. The CW has had a very consistent lineup; expect a bunch of additional renewals, in batch form, to come soon.
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