CBS is preparing for its upfronts presentation on Wednesday by announcing the fate of two of its bubble dramas.
East New York and True Lies have been canceled after their freshman seasons and will wrap up for good this month.
The Amanda Warren-led East New York ends its run on May 14, while True Lies will follow on May 17.
Out of the two, East New York was the only one that really had a chance at renewal.
East New York is currently averaging 6.8 million viewers and a 0.6 rating in the demo with a week of DVR playback factored.
The numbers are on par with S.W.A.T., which was canceled on Friday and picked up for a surprise seventh — and final — season on Monday evening.
East New York hailed from Warner Bros. Television, which complicated a renewal as CBS has been tightening the budgets for much of its series.
The cast of Blue Bloods reportedly took a pay cut to secure the recent renewal for next season, while Bob Hearts Abishola demoted more than ten series regulars to recurring status.
We’ll say it once, and we’ll say it again: Broadcast TV is changing.
S.W.A.T.’s performance signaled renewal, but reports stated the show was not making financial sense for CBS or Sony Pictures Television.
Thankfully, a deal has been ironed out and that show will be back.
True Lies never really got off the ground, with the freshman season averaging an anemic 4.5 million viewers and a 0.4 rating in the demo with a wee of DVR included.
Those numbers are too soft to keep around, especially given that shows lose viewers between seasons.
S.W.A.T. was the exception to that rule, showing some growth year-to-year.
CBS previously renewed Young Sheldon, Ghosts, the FBI franchise, Fire Country, The Neighborhood, The Equalizer, NCIS, NCIS: Hawaii, Bob Hearts Abishola, Blue Bloods, So Help Me Todd, and CSI: Vegas.
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
