I cannot believe we’re going through this again. CBS announced Friday the renewal of 11 scripted shows for next season. (link) One show not included 0n that list is Monday night staple How I Met Your Mother. The Blot is thoroughly disappointed and cannot believe CBS is on the fence about the show again. For those not aware, How I Met Your Mother “was left hanging last season until an eleventh-hour renewal.” (link) While this doesn’t bode well for the show, especially considering freshman comedy The Big Bang Theory has already been renewed, there are some signs that point to an eventually renewal by the Tiffany Network. One such sign is the ordering of 9 new episodes of HIMYM to air in the spring. Don’t get me wrong, The Big Bang Theory is a great addition to CBS’s Monday night comedy lineup, but it’s definitely no HIMYM. Thankfully sources have informed The Hollywood Reporter that the show has “a good chance to return in the fall. (link)
If anything the real decision for CBS seems to be which comedy to renew for the 9:30/8:30 central spot after television’s top rated comedy, Two and a Half Men. While CBS delayed having to make a decision last year by renewing both Rules of Engagement and The New Adventures of Old Christine and having Old Christine come in as a mid-season replacement for Rules of Engagement, it is doubtful the network will do the same again. While Old Christine did well in its first year and star Julia Louis-Dreyfus won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, in its second year its ratings were beat by mid-season replacement Rules of Engagement, bringing into question if the show would be renewed.
Now in its third year, The New Adventures of Old Christine is once again beating the ratings of Rules of Engagement, “albeit at a time when TV viewers are starved for fresh programming.” (link) With new episodes being ordered for both ½ hour comedies, it will be interesting to see which comes out ahead in the ratings war and is eventually chosen to round out CBS’s Monday night comedy block. My guess would be Christine winning out, if only because the show has garnered higher critical praise including two Emmy nominations (plus one win) and a Golden Globe nomination for the show’s star Louis-Dreyfus. This would be disappointing for The Blot though, who has really come to enjoy Rules of Engagement and the interaction between its stars Patrick Warburton and David Spade.Additional scripted shows still up in the air for renewal include Moonlight and Shark, which will return with new episodes this spring, and The Unit and Cane which “were not picked up for more episodes.” (link)
CBS’s List of Renewed Scripted Shows
CSI
CSI: New York
CSI: Miami
Criminal Minds
Two and a Half men
The Big Bang Theory
NCIS
Cold Case
Without a Trace
Ghost Whisperer
Numbers
