Various networks are starting to make some of their renewal and cancellation decisions. NBC is the latest, handing out renewals to two comedies. It just leaves two comedies in limbo — and one of them hasn’t officially started yet!
The renewals aren’t surprising at all, as both shows continue to draw in the viewers. There is one that has aired since November that remains on the bubble, but it’s clear that NBC is trying with it. Can it beat the odds?
St. Denis Medical and Happy's Place renewed for season 3
St. Denis Medical and Happy’s Place are both coming back for their third seasons. Their renewals are not that surprising when you consider they remain popular and consistent.
In fact, according to Deadline, NBC reports that St. Denis Medical is “the only primetime comedy across all the broadcast network sot see season-over-season linear growth in the 18–49 demo.” This excludes the FOX comedies that see fluctuating viewership due to the NFL lead-ins on some of the Sunday nights, which does affect the overall consistency of the numbers.
The demo is the key viewership data for the networks, as this is what many of the advertisers look at to decide where they want to put their material.
Meanwhile, Happy’s Place has a strong viewership, especially for a Friday night show. While viewership hasn’t consistently increased, it’s been steady, and it’s clear that people want more Reba McEntire — because, why wouldn’t they?
Stumble and Reggie Dinkins await renewal decisions from NBC
That leaves two comedies still with fates undecided, and no, we’re not talking about The Paper, which is actually a Peacock show that landed a primetime slot during the fall on the network.
Stumble is the one that we’re most concerned about right now, which is now on a break due to the Winter Olympics. The series debuted in November to less-than-stellar numbers. To try to help the comedy, NBC pulled The Paper in January to put on reruns of the cheerleading series to see if it could benefit from the St. Denis Medical viewers since both shows are mockumentaries.
The series is also getting a post-Olympics special episode, which is to hopefully help the viewership. The decision is still in the air, but it’s a comedy worth keeping in terms of heartfelt storylines.
The other comedy is The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, which premiered in a special timeslot after the NFC game on NBC back in January. The show won’t officially start airing until Monday, Feb. 23, where it will air its pilot and second episode back-to-back, before moving to the post-St. Denis Medical timeslot from the week after.
As the show is so new, it’s not fair to really say that it’s in limbo. It’s simply too soon to tell if it will get the viewership, but with actors like Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe and with the mockumentary style of filming, it stands a good chance on Monday nights.