Welcome to “After The TV Bloodbath 2024”, our annual tradition of rounding up the renewed and cancelled TV series from the five major US networks as they head through “Upfronts” week, and present their new season of shows to their potential advertisers.
The 2023/24 season has been another interesting period, with strikes from both the writers and actors delaying broadcasts, and further squeezes on network finances leaving some broadcasters with really tough decisions. Many of the cancellations and renewals this year weren’t too shocking, although there is always one network we can rely on to upset the apple cart, and that, once again, is CBS… Here is how the battles for scripted drama and comedy this year played out…
The Cancellations
As we look over the mists of the battlefield, there were not too many unexpected TV series mown down in the slaughter. Our old friends in CBS battalion though were the first to conclude their battles, and it was a masterclass in the old adage “You don’t have to run faster than the bear to get away. You just have to run faster than the guy next to you…”
CBS were the first to return from battle and fielded the strongest line-up of any network for the 16th year in a row. They were “America’s Most-Watched Network”, with the top 4 most-watched series and 13 of the top 20 shows across US TV. On the face of it, this should be excellent news. However, it left CBS with a bit of a problem… Having already ordered five new series for the network it meant, due to space and budgets, some of the shows at the lower end were going to get chopped. In any other year, or on any other network, those shows may have survived…
The brutal CBS cull saw us lose ‘So Help Me Todd‘ after 2 Seasons, along with ‘CSI: Vegas‘ and ‘NCIS: Hawai’i‘ after 3 Seasons each. They joined ‘Young Sheldon‘, ‘Bob Hearts Abishola‘, and long-running police drama ‘Blue Bloods‘, all of which had been told they were being put out to pasture earlier in the year.
NBC was the second network to complete its cull, and it was not a good year for cult sci-fi fans… They struck down ‘La Brea‘ after 3 Seasons – although they did at least allow them to end on their own terms, albeit with a speedrun through the final season’s story – and took the ‘Quantum Leap‘ accelerator off-line after 2 Seasons. It had been confirmed earlier in the year that ‘Magnum PI‘ would not be surviving past its initial two-season pick-up on NBC, and the network decided not to extend ‘Extended Family‘, bringing the axe down on the freshman comedy. They also lost the medical drama ‘Transplant‘ after 4 Seasons, although that was a Canadian import, so was out of their control.
ABC was the third of the main networks to conclude the slaughter, although the “murder mouse” was relatively light with the axe this season. They’d previously confirmed ‘The Good Doctor‘ would hang up his stethoscope after 7 Seasons, and revealed back in December they would no longer require the services of ‘Station 19‘, also after 7 Seasons, much to the annoyance of fans… They waited until “Bloodbath Day” (May 10th) itself to decide ‘Not Dead Yet‘ would not live up to its name, cancelling the comedy after 2 Seasons.
Every year, one network vies for the “Fluffiest Network” award, and this year it goes to FOX. They have only cancelled one show, the animated comedy ‘HouseBroken‘. It had been off the air since August last year and really didn’t pick up steam in season two, so the cancellation is no shock.
Lastly, we come to The CW, once home to superheroes and teen vampires, but under new owners (Nexstar) is now filled with golf, reality TV, and “variety” series. Whilst The CW has completely abandoned ordering new scripted series of its own, it does have four dramas left over from the “old CW”. They announced back in November last year that ‘Superman & Lois‘ would end with its upcoming 4th Season, but we don’t yet know the status of the other three scripted series (more on that below.)
The Renewals
On to the happier topic of shows which fought off the competition and made it home from the battlefield. Start the ticker tape parade!
Whilst CBS made some brutal cuts, it also produced one of the biggest surprise renewals, handing an 8th Season to ‘SWAT‘, having previously cancelled it… then renewed it, but only for a supposed final season… and now renewed it again! They also renewed the hugely successful ‘Fire Country’ for Season 3, and ‘Ghosts’ for Season 4, along with a three-season renewal to ‘FBI’, whilst ‘FBI: Most Wanted’ (Season 6), ‘FBI: International’ (Season 4) got a new season each. Over at the “other” big CBS franchise, ‘NCIS’ gets Season 22, whilst ‘NCIS: Sydney’ landed Season 2. They join ‘The Equalizer‘ which is back for Season 5, and ‘The Neighborhood’ which gains a 7th Season. It was also good news for two freshmen series, with ‘Good Wife/Fight’ spin-off ‘Elsbeth‘ and Justin Hartley’s ‘Tracker‘ both getting 2nd Seasons.
Over in NBC, both major franchises are back, with “One Chicago” – ‘Chicago Med‘ (Season 10), ‘Chicago Fire‘ (Season 13) & ‘Chicago PD‘ (Season 12) – all renewed, along with the long-running dramas ‘Law & Order‘ for Season 24, and ‘Law & Order: SVU‘ for a record-breaking 26th Season. ‘Law & Order: Organized Crime‘ also scored a 5th Season renewal, however, it is being moved over to streaming service Peacock (not that it makes any difference to UK audiences, where it’ll stay on Sky Witness.) On the comedy side, ‘Night Court‘ landed a 3rd Season alongside ‘Lopez vs Lopez‘, and freshman series ‘Found‘ and ‘The Irrational‘ both got 2nd Seasons.
At ABC, the ‘9-1-1‘ firefighters held strong in their new home, landing a second season at the “mouse house” since moving from FOX, and an 8th Season overall. They’re joined by ‘Abbott Elementary‘ for Season 4, ‘Grey’s Anatomy‘ for Season 21, ‘Will Trent‘ for Season 3, and ‘The Rookie‘ for Season 7. After some tricky negotiations, ‘The Conners‘ are also back for a 7th Season, however, it will only be six episodes and will be a final season.
FOX renewed most of its animated slate, including ‘Bob’s Burgers‘ (Season 15), ‘Family Guy‘ (Season 23), ‘Grimsburg‘ (Season 2), ‘The Great North‘ (Season 4), ‘Krapopolis‘ (already renewed up to Season 3), and, of course, ‘The Simpsons‘ (Season 36), along with live-action comedy ‘Animal Control‘ which lands Season 3. They are joined by Scott Caan and Dania Ramirez-fronted drama ‘Alert: Missing Persons Unit‘ which returns for Season 3 (and still doesn’t have a UK broadcaster!), and ‘The Cleaning Lady‘ which gets a 4th Season. They even have renewed the new animated series ‘Universal Basic Guys‘ for a 2nd Season before Season 1 has even aired, truly earning their title as 2024’s “Fluffiest Network”!
Still Missing In Action
You may have noticed The CW was missing from the renewals category. That is because they haven’t renewed anything yet, so the fates of ‘All American‘, ‘All American: Homecoming‘ and ‘Walker‘ are still unknown. Whilst the rating are good for all three shows, the problem here is money. The ‘All American’ series come from WBD, whilst ‘Walker’ is made by CBS Studios. At the moment, it isn’t clear if WBD and CBS can make enough based on the financial model they currently have with Nexstar to make the shows, or if they can come to some new arrangement. That puts all three in a precarious situation. There are also the dramas ‘Sight Unseen‘ and ‘Wild Cards‘, however, they are co-produced by CTV in Canada under a different model, so stand a better chance. Plus, if The CW did pull out of them, it may even be possible for CTV to continue with them alone for the Canadian market.
The other network with a couple of outstanding series is FOX, which still has ‘9-1-1: Lone Star‘, now separated from its parent series which moved to ABC last season, and anthology drama ‘Accused‘. Due to the writer/actor strikes moving things around, both shows aren’t expected to return until the Autumn (aka “Fall”) season, so FOX will not decide their fate until after they have aired.
There will be a lot more news about the various new series pickups (check the home page!) and some more renewals & cancellations over the next few weeks and months as the US networks get all their ducks… and mice… and peacocks… in a row. You can also check the premiere dates for these shows on our UK TV Air Dates page, and our USA TV Premiere Dates pages. Lastly, you can track any show on the site by adding it via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.
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