Will Your Favorite Shows Be Back? How It’s Looking for 2019-2020
Everyone getting nervous? That’s typical this time of year as the networks make their final decisions on which series get to live on for another season.
Some calls have already been made — Blue Bloods, The Good Place and The Good Doctor are among those coming back — but 51 scripted shows are still sweating it out. All fates should be determined by the week of May 13, when the broadcast networks announce their 2019–20 lineups.
Here’s where things stand currently.
Dramas
Shonda Rhimes’s Grey’s Anatomy will surely be prescribed a 16th round — the March 28 episode hit a season high with 7.4 million viewers. Spinoff Station 19 will likely continue to put out fires (averaging 5.3 million viewers for the season), but it’s not such a sure thing for Rhimes’s other ABC dramas, How to Get Away With Murder (2.8 million) and For the People (3.1 million). Empire‘s Taraji P. Henson recently stated that costar Jussie Smollett will be back for Season 6, despite his recent scandal — but Fox hasn’t yet announced a renewal for Empire or its fellow music drama, the underperforming Star.
The case may be closed for Fox’s Proven Innocent. Even with the star power of Kelsey Grammer, it’s guilty of low ratings. The CW gave a round of early renewals to all its superhero shows plus Supernatural, and sci-fi reboot Roswell, New Mexico. And while it seemed the prospects for All American and In the Dark were, well, dark, they also got the renewal treatment. Also foundering is NBC’s The Village, barely pulling half the audience of previous timeslot holder, the sure-to-be-renewed This Is Us (4.2 million sets of eyeballs for The Village vs. 8.3 million for This Is Us). It’s going to take more than a village of viewers to keep this show around.
Comedies
ABC’s The Conners, which survived losing Roseanne Barr, and Fox’s revival of the Tim Allen vehicle Last Man Standing have already been renewed, but the likelihood of a sophomore year for this season’s other high-profile revival, CBS’s Murphy Brown, is slim. Candice Bergen’s TV return failed to stir up much buzz or fans.
Fresh Off the Boat just celebrated 100 episodes, so ABC may feel that’s enough and dock it permanently. Keeping Life in Pieces benched for nearly a year doesn’t instill much confidence that CBS will want another round of the family sitcom. Expect the tap to run dry for NBC’s bar-set Abby’s, which has been losing viewers every week. And there aren’t any good vibes for more of I Feel Bad, since NBC said in November that the series would “conclude” after 13 episodes. So while not officially official, consider it canceled.
The Rookie (Credit: ABC)
Franchises
NBC’s gamble to air all three Dick Wolf Chicago dramas on Wednesdays paid off big-time — Med, Fire and P.D. have all been renewed. Ratings-buster NCIS is a go for Season 17, as are NCIS: Los Angeles for Season 11 and NCIS: New Orleans for Season 6.
Procedurals
CBS’s sophomore series SEAL Team and S.W.A.T. are both solid performers (with seasons averaging 5.2 and 5.3 million viewers, respectively), so Jason Hayes (David Boreanaz) and Hondo Harrelson (Shemar Moore) will likely see more adventures. In danger at CBS is Michael Weatherly‘s Bull, which has been plagued by sinking ratings — a February episode hit a series low of 6.25 million viewers — and the December news of a $9.5 million harassment payout to actress Eliza Dushku doesn’t help the case.
Nathan Fillion‘s The Rookie isn’t the hit ABC was counting on, so he may not get a chance to become more seasoned. And the ax could come down on Lethal Weapon. Despite star Damon Wayans not quitting after he threatened to last October, Fox may have had enough of the off-camera drama.
How It’s Looking
The scripted dramas and comedies you will — and likely won’t — see next season
FBI (Credit: CBS)
Already Renewed
Arrow (The CW)
Black Lightning (The CW)
The Blacklist (NBC)
Blue Bloods (CBS)
Bob’s Burgers (Fox)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC)
Charmed (The CW)
Chicago Fire (NBC)
Chicago Med (NBC)
Chicago P.D. (NBC)
The Conners (ABC)
Criminal Minds (CBS)
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (The CW)
Dynasty (The CW)
Family Guy (Fox)
FBI (CBS)
The Flash (The CW)
God Friended Me (CBS)
The Good Doctor (ABC)
Good Girls (NBC)
The Good Place (NBC)
Last Man Standing (Fox)
Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
Legacies (The CW)
Magnum P.I. (CBS)
Manifest (NBC)
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC)
A Million Little Things (ABC)
Modern Family (ABC)
Mom (CBS)
NCIS (CBS)
NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)
NCIS: New Orleans (CBS)
The Neighborhood (CBS)
New Amsterdam (NBC)
9-1-1 (Fox)
The Resident (Fox)
Riverdale (The CW)
The Simpsons (Fox)
Supergirl (The CW)
Supernatural (The CW)
Superstore (NBC)
Will & Grace (NBC)
Young Sheldon (CBS)
All American (The CW)
In the Dark (The CW)
Roswell, New Mexico (The CW)
The 100 (The CW)
This Is Us (Credit: NBC)
Looks Good
American Housewife (ABC)
black-ish (ABC)
The Goldbergs (ABC)
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Hawaii Five-0 (CBS)
MacGyver (CBS)
SEAL Team (CBS)
S.W.A.T. (CBS)
This Is Us (NBC)
Jury’s Out
A.P. Bio (NBC)
Bless This Mess (ABC)
Blindspot (NBC)
Bull (CBS)
The Code (CBS)
The Cool Kids (Fox)
Empire (Fox)
The Enemy Within (NBC)
Fam (CBS)
The Fix (ABC)
For the People (ABC)
Fresh Off the Boat (ABC)
How to Get Away With Murder (ABC)
The Kids Are Alright (ABC)
Lethal Weapon (Fox)
Life in Pieces (CBS)
Madam Secretary (CBS)
Man With a Plan (CBS)
The Orville (Fox)
The Passage (Fox)
Ransom (CBS)
The Red Line (CBS)
The Rookie (ABC)
Schooled (ABC)
Single Parents (ABC)
Speechless (ABC)
Splitting Up Together (ABC)
Star (Fox)
Station 19 (ABC)
Whiskey Cavalier (ABC)
On Life Support
Abby’s (NBC)
Happy Together (CBS)
I Feel Bad (NBC)
Murphy Brown (CBS)
Proven Innocent (Fox)
The Village (NBC)
Rel (Credit: Fox)
Canceled
The Gifted (Fox)
Marlon (NBC)
Midnight, Texas (NBC)
Rel (Fox)
