Although most of the cancelled TV show headlines of late have been focused on the big streamers (the proof is here), attention will soon shift to the beleaguered Big 5 broadcasters as the May upfronts draw closer.
Many in-limbo shows on our 2023 Renewal Scorecard are a lock to return, but there are a handful of high-profile series on ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and The CW that remain very much on the bubble.
Take the 13 shows featured below. The fate of each of them are hanging in the balance, and, in several instances, we’d be lying if we said we weren’t a little concerned. (OK, a lot concerned).
Browse the following list, and then hit the comments with an answer to this question: Which one(s) are you pulling for most?
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Big Sky (ABC)
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC While the “live” ratings for the ABC thriller’s just-concluded Season 3 were decidedly underwhelming, the show remains a monster in delayed viewing. Among total viewers, no current broadcast show nets a bigger DVR bump.
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Call Me Kat (Fox)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Fox Speaking of enviable delayed viewing stats, Mayim Bialik and Co. — in their current third season — are enjoying the best DVR bump of any broadcast comedy. Conversely, the sitcom’s 33 percent demo decline represents the biggest season-over-season drop of any Fox show.
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The Resident (Fox)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Fox As we noted back on Jan. 17, the Season 6 finale could easily function as a series ender, if need be. In other words, Fox can cancel the show without worrying about it triggering a nasty “But it ended on a cliffhanger!” backlash from fans. Perhaps somewhat ominously, EP Amy Holden Jones recently conceded to TVLine that she has “not gotten any indication” about the fate of the medical drama from the network, adding, “Losing a cast like this one seems insane to me, but corporate decisions are a mystery.” UPDATE: The Resident has been cancelled.
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Home Economics (ABC)
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC The good news: Ratings for the ensemble sitcom’s recently wrapped Season 3 held steady. The worrisome news: ABC had the option to expand Season 3 from 13 to a full season’s 22 episodes but declined to exercise it. EP Michael Colton remains hopeful. “We’re planning to come back,” he recently told TVLine. “We have a lot more stories to tell.”
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The Goldbergs (ABC)
Image Credit: 'The Goldbergs' (ABC) The venerable Wednesday sitcom has been renewed by the skin of its teeth the past couple of years, and we foresee the same nail-biter playing out this spring. It doesn’t help that in its current 10th season — the comedy’s first without patriarch Jeff Garlin — ratings have plunged 18 percent, more than any other ABC program. UPDATE: The Goldbergs is indeed ending.
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The Blacklist (NBC)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC We’ve marked NBC’s ratings challenged James Spader drama for death before, and we’ve been proven wrong time and time again. Still, on the eve of the series’ Season 10 premiere on Feb. 26, our gut is telling us a “final season” announcement is, at long last, nigh. UPDATE: The Blacklist is indeed ending.
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Blue Bloods (CBS)
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS With CBS gradually retiring its veteran series (NCIS: Los Angeles is the latest long-running procedural to get the hook), we have to imagine the clock is ticking on the sure-to-be-pricey 13-year-old Blue Bloods. Then again, the Eye net is probably in no hurry to part ways with broadcast TV’s third most-watched entertainment program. UPDATE: Blue Bloods has been renewed for Season 14, after cast and producers reportedly agreed to salary cuts in order to keep the show going.
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And then there's The CW...
Image Credit: Courtesy of The CW What’s left? Excluding newbie Gotham Knights, which bows March 14, the in-transition (and freshly golf obsessed) CW has six shows still in-limbo: All American: Homecoming, Kung Fu, Superman & Lois, Walker, Walker Independence and The Winchesters. Given that the OG All American is currently the only scripted CW show confirmed to return next fall, we suspect the network’s new owners are going to want to hang on to its sister series Homecoming and thus keep their successful Monday one-two punch intact. But beyond that? All bets are off.
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