GeekSided
FanSided

CBS can't afford to keep canceling hits

ByAysha Ashley Househ|
“High Ground” – During a hiking trip, Powell and Gamble stumble upon an illegal weed farm and find themselves taking on a dangerous cartel, on S.W.A.T., Friday, Feb. 28 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on-demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs)*. Pictured (L-R): Shemar Moore as Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson. Bill Inoshita/Sony Pictures Television/CBS
“High Ground” – During a hiking trip, Powell and Gamble stumble upon an illegal weed farm and find themselves taking on a dangerous cartel, on S.W.A.T., Friday, Feb. 28 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on-demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs)*. Pictured (L-R): Shemar Moore as Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson. Bill Inoshita/Sony Pictures Television/CBS

The broadcast networks definitely surprised us this time around with their sweeping cancellations that a lot of us did not see coming. Some of them are very successful shows that have loyal fan bases, so it's certainly a strange turn of events. For the 2025-2026 season, unfortunately CBS was no different.

The network cancelled Blue Bloods, The Equalizer, FBI: International, FBI: Most Wanted, and S.W.A.T. All of these fit the bill for having interesting storylines, people love procedurals, great characters, and as mentioned above. A committed amount of people who turn in each week for new episodes. Especially since they've all gone on for many seasons and years.

However, it seems like CBS wanted to prioritize different genres perhaps. Because like I said, many of these are procedurals. We did get multiple renewals with dramas like Elsbeth, and comedies like Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage and the beloved Ghosts. I think they also wanted to make room for some new content like Sheriff Country, DMV, and Tom Ellis' CIA.

No Good Deed
“No Good Deed” – Danny and his nephew Joe Hill (Will Hochman) investigate the homicide of a delivery driver who may have been connected to an illegal narcotics ring in the city. Also, Eddie is determined to save the job of a probationary police officer who may be fired for responding to a crime; Frank faces a hard decision when he discovers Gormley is non-compliant with NYPD residency requirements; and Erin clashes with her boss, D.A. Crawford, when a seemingly rehabilated criminal from an old

Even so, I still think that CBS can't afford to keep cancelling hits. Like no offense to any of these shows, they're all good and we're happy they're coming back for more. But it really feels like the company decided not to bring back a lot of their more popular shows that have been running for years.

Look at Grey's Anatomy on ABC, for example. In my opinion, the medical drama ran its course a long time ago. Though the network still keeps it around because they know people will still tune in. Plus with seasons added on Netflix, that's a whole other audience ABC is able to tap into.

I'm not saying CBS has to have these series' going for 20+ years necessarily, but many of them still had momentum to them. So that's why it's just shocking to see that it made so man drastic decisions. The network doesn't really have big hitters like its competitors, so this was a very strange move to make. The ones remaining just don't have that same built-in audience to them.

There's still exciting shows to look forward to in the 2025-2026 season, and that's all we can really do at this point. Our favorites had a good run, and hopefully the actors on them all will have new projects soon so we can go and support them. We can see them elsewhere at least.

More CBS news from GeekSided:

Home/CBS Shows