With the Upfronts only a few weeks away, a number of bubble shows on all five of the broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox and NBC) are waiting to hear if they’ll be back. In the week since our last column, the fates of a number of these bubble shows, including Community, Almost Human and Surviving Jack, have firmed up. And as such, TVWise presents the penultimate edition of this year’s Broadcast TV Buzz column, which lists, by network, the latest industry intel (buzz if you will) on which shows will be back next year and which shows are set to get cancelled.
ABC
There has not been much movement at ABC. The network has yet to renewal a single show, but have already pulled the plug on Back In The Game, Minds Games, Lucky 7, Once Upon A Time In Wonderland and The Assets. Once Upon A Time, Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Castle, Resurrection and Modern Family are all still considered locks for renewal; while Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Goldbergs, The Middle, Nashville, Revenge and Last Man Standing are looking good for renewal. According to my sources the only series whose fate has shifted over the past few days is Suburgatory. The comedy from Warner Bros. Television was considered a toss up just a week ago, but is now expected to swing a renewal. Meanwhile, ABC is expected to officially cancel Trophy Wife, Killer Women, The Neighbors, Betrayal, Super Fun Night and Mixology.
CBS
CBS has already handed pick ups to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Person of Interest, Hawaii Five-0, Blue Bloods, The Good Wife, Criminal Minds, Elementary, 2 Broke Girls, The Millers, Mike & Molly, Mom, Two And A Half Men and The Big Bang Theory; whilst also cancelling the Tony Shalhoub fronted comedy We Are Men. With most of their line up decided on, and Les Mooves stating that CBS expected to pick up only 4 new series, there is not much left in play. Dramas Hostages and Intelligence, while big DVR gainers, didn’t make much of a dent in the ratings in live+same day and will not be returning. On the comedy side, CBS has yet to decide on which series to pick up. The Crazy Ones has the best shot at this stage, despite Friends With Better Lives holding steady in week three. Things will become clearer in the coming days, once Bad Teacher has premiered. Finally, word has been circulating for the past few days that CBS, happy with their drama development, have all but decided to cancel The Mentalist. Given that, it is no surprise that reports began circulating today that Warner Bros. Television were shopping the series to other networks in the hopes of securing a seventh season.
The CW
Over at The CW, there has been some (minimal) movement. With the network having already renewed Arrow, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, Reign and The Originals, it is only Beauty & The Beast, The 100, Star-Crossed, Hart of Dixie and The Carrie Diaries that are left on the bubble. Things are looking up for Beauty & The Beast. Only weeks ago the CBS Television Studios produced drama was considered a long shot for renewal, but in the past few days sources have been maintaining that the drama is “guaranteed” a slot on next season’s schedule. It’s unclear, however, if it will be a short order of 13 episodes of a full 22 episode pick up. The 100 has been a strong player for The CW and is a lock for renewal. The only other series still in contention is Hart of Dixie. It will depend on drama development but with buzz dying down on the Supernatural spin-off, it has a shot. Meanwhile, The Carrie Diaries, The Tomorrow People and Star-Crossed are set to be cancelled.
Fox
Just like CBS, Fox has already handed pick up to most of their current shows. The network has renewed The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, Family Guy, Bones, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, New Girl, The Mindy Project, Sleepy Hollow, The Following and Glee. They have also cancelled Us & Them, Rake and Raising Hope. TVWise reported last week that Almost Human was looking good for a second season renewal. I’m now hearing that a second season pick up is a sure thing – something Fox recently hinted at by scheduling an encore of the Almost Human season finale for May 17th, just days after their upfront presentation. On the comedy side, despite strong support amongst network execs, Enlisted is now considered a goner and wont feature on Fox’s 2014-2015 schedule. That leaves only Dads and Surviving Jack on the bubble. Word is that only one will be renewed and that as things currently stand Fox is leaning towards picking up a second season of Dads, which is produced by sister studio 20th Century Fox Television.
NBC
The peacock has already renewed The Blacklist, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Parks and Recreation and Grimm; and cancelled Sean Saves The World, Welcome To The Family, Ironside and The Michael J. Fox Show. That leaves a lot of shows still in play, but there has not been much movement from what we reported in last week’s column. About A Boy, Growing Up Fisher and Parenthood are still set for renewal. As for Community: sources at the network are calling the fifth season “creatively very strong” and given the comparable ratings to the already renewed Parks and Recreation and SPT’s desire to keep the show going, a sixth season order is more or less considered a lock. Despite an uptick in ratings this past week, Believe is still facing cancellation. Fellow Sunday series Crisis on the other hand suffered further ratings declines and is a goner. Things have been quiet with Law & Order: SVU, but the sole remaining entry in the once vast Law & Order franchise is expected to return. Friday night series Hannibal is hard to get a clear read on but from what I’ve been hearing it’ll be back for season three. Warner Bros. has been pushing for a renewal for Revolution, but NBC is still expected to cancel the JJ Abrams drama.
