Over the past several years, CBS has made several cancelation decisions that don’t make much sense. Although the problem has been more pronounced recently, the network has a history of making strange cancelation choices from time to time, usually in an effort to rebrand itself and attract a different audience. For example, it is well-known that in the 1970s, CBS canceled Gunsmoke without giving the series enough advance notice to create a series finale — even though it was a winner for the network for two decades.
CBS similarly purged itself of hit rural comedies such as Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies in 1970 to remake itself as a home for urban-based humor such as All in the Family. (Ironically, in 1985, it axed The Jeffersons, a spinoff of All In The Family, ahead of its 11th season finale, without notifying the cast). More recently, CBS has canceled several shows in 2025, many of which are among its most popular offerings. These decisions often seem illogical. However, in many cases, CBS’ cancelations are based on financial constraints rather than ratings.
Blue Bloods’ cancelation is one of CBS’ most disappointing decisions for several reasons. Significantly, the procedural remained one of the network’s most popular shows 14 years after its premiere, regularly pulling in over 6 million viewers per episode. These numbers were doubly impressive considering that Blue Bloods aired on Friday nights at 10 p.m. — a timeslot that is notorious for low viewing numbers, as many people are not home to watch television at that time.
The offer of a Blue Bloods spinoff for the fall of 2025 may not be enough to offset the loss.
The decision to end Blue Bloods was doubly illogical because of its passionate fan base. Blue Bloods had a large, diverse, and committed audience, many of whom were drawn to the show’s family values and the Reagan family dinner scenes that were part of every episode. Canceling the hugely popular series triggered massive backlash, and the offer of a Blue Bloods spinoff for the fall of 2025 may not be enough to offset the loss. Enraged people might be reluctant to tune in after Blue Bloods’ fate, so it may not have been a smart business move to end this popular offering.
FBI: Most Wanted is another popular procedural, so its cancelation could trigger a similar upset to Blue Bloods. The FBI spinoff features Dylan McDermott’s Remy Scott as the head of the Fugitive Task Force, which finds and brings in extremely dangerous and violent criminals who have evaded police capture. Although the series was more popular before Julian McMahon left in season 3, it’s still one of CBS’ most highly ranked shows, and thus, should not have been on the chopping block.
After CBS’ shocking decision to cancel FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted, there could be a possibility that NBC will revive one or both shows.
This cancelation seems even more senseless than Blue Bloods’. FBI: Most Wanted is part of a three-hour block of similar shows from the same franchise, so eliminating it could seriously hurt CBS on Tuesday nights. Additionally, this move might harm the newest spinoff’s chances of success. It may feel too risky to invest time and energy in FBI: CIA if CBS could cancel it without warning, regardless of how high its ratings are.
FBI: International is different from most other procedurals. While it is part of the FBI franchise, it offers a glimpse into a world that is rarely seen on television: U.S. law enforcement investigating crimes in foreign countries. This show focuses on the elite FBI Fly Team, which is based in Budapest and handles international crimes that affect the United States. Often, these cases involve US citizens who are victimized abroad, though sometimes they revolve around international terrorists or others who have nefarious plans for America.
Having such a unique show should give CBS an advantage over other networks. Furthermore, this is one of CBS’ more popular offerings, regularly pulling in an average of around 6 million viewers (via TVLine). While that’s lower than the average audience of the other two FBI shows, FBI: International clearly has a large audience. Ending this series prematurely therefore makes little sense and will only upset the viewers CBS is struggling to keep tuned in to its offerings.
S.W.A.T. has a bizarre history with CBS. The network planned to cancel it three times, but it changed its mind twice because of massive pressure from the procedural’s fan base. It is hard to believe that the series will stay canceled this time, but it is likely to stick. S.W.A.T. was moved into Blue Bloods’ old timeslot after Blue Bloods ended its 14-year run on December 13, 2024. This series was not interesting to Blue Bloods’ audience, many of whom were too angry about the other show’s cancelation to give another series a chance.
The constant drama over whether S.W.A.T would be renewed or canceled suggests that CBS is making shortsighted decisions rather than making logical, thought-out plans to ensure the network’s longevity. CBS’ backtracking on the cancelation means that this decision was not good for the network’s bottom line. However, the series was pushed into a timeslot where it was unlikely to do well, which gave CBS the grounds to finally get rid of it.
East New York’s cancelation was among CBS’ most frustrating, both because of its unique content and its popularity. The freshman police drama had solid ratings, considering it was broadcast on Sunday nights and often began far beyond its start time because of football games going into overtime. It also had an intriguing premise, as it was set in an underserved, mostly Black and Latino neighborhood, where police and community relationships had completely broken down. East New York’s cast included well-known actors such as Richard Kind and Jimmy Smits in key roles, adding to its appeal.
Had East New York survived, it was one of the few shows that would have appealed to Blue Bloods’ audience after Blue Bloods ended.
Ironically, had East New York survived, it was one of the few shows that would have appealed to Blue Bloods’ audience after Blue Bloods ended. The two shows shared an emphasis on NYPD politics and family issues, though Blue Bloods was more intentional about its family content. Sadly, East New York never got that chance, as CBS took its time deciding whether to renew or cancel and eventually decided against a second season.
So Help Me Todd may have had lower ratings than some of the other canceled CBS shows, but doing away with it was still a mistake. This series’ quirky blend of comedy and legal drama — centered on a mother-son duo with clashing approaches to solving cases — filled a unique space in CBS’ lineup. So Help Me Todd catered to audiences hungry for intelligent, character-driven storytelling, making it difficult to replace it with more traditional comedies.
Why CBS Canceled So Help Me Todd After Just 2 Seasons
The reason given by CBS for canceling the well-liked legal dramedy So Help Me Todd is disappointing for a few reasons, and fans aren’t happy.
Additionally, in 2023, CBS eliminated the entire genre of quirky comedy-dramas when both So Help Me Todd and Young Sheldon ended, leaving only Ghosts, which has supernatural elements that set it apart from the rest of the genre. Rather than leave this large hole in its lineup, it would have been a better strategy to give So Help Me Todd at least one more season while the network worked to develop another quirky comedy-drama. Instead, it ended So Help Me Todd too soon, leaving viewers who loved this genre with no compelling reason to stick with the network.
Bob Hearts Abishola’s cancelation didn’t make sense ratings-wise. At the time it ended, the comedy about the marriage between a Nigerian immigrant and a white businessman was one of CBS’ top comedies. Additionally, it was canceled the same year as Blue Bloods was. Thus, this decision lost CBS two of its most popular shows, albeit it in completely different genres. Additionally, CBS’ failure to greenlight Bob Hearts Abishola season 6 was a serious blow to diverse programming on the network.
CBS hurt its commitment to diverse programming by canceling the show when it was still a ratings success.
CBS had devoted Monday nights to diverse comedies, but after Bob Hearts Abishola ended, it was left with only The Neighborhood. Show co-creator Gina Yashere speculated that the series’ cancelation had to do with CBS not being committed enough to diversity, despite having greenlit the show for five seasons (via TheWrap). Regardless of whether that was actually the case, CBS hurt its commitment to diverse programming by canceling the show when it was still a ratings success.
NCIS is one of CBS’ biggest franchises, so it’s surprising that the network canceled NCIS: Hawaii after only three seasons. The culprit was likely money; the stunning Hawaiian outdoor locales were expensive to shoot. However, since the network decided to cancel NCIS: Hawaii at the last minute, after the season finale had already aired and there was no chance of wrapping the stories up properly, the procedural was stuck with a non-ending that included several cliffhangers in preparation for a season 4 that didn’t happen.
At the very least, CBS should have ordered a final movie to tie up loose ends. Ideally, however, the network would have greenlit a fourth season, given that NCIS: Hawaii’s ratings were steadily climbing. It was also disappointing for the network to cancel the first series in the franchise to feature a female lead while ordering more of the other NCIS shows that stuck to more traditional gender roles.
CSI: Vegas was intended to be a reboot of the original CSI. The original show was both popular and groundbreaking, as it featured the use of forensic science and offered an alternative to the overabundance of amateur sleuth shows that were on the air at the time. While CSI: Vegas never approached the ratings success of its parent show, it pulled in solid numbers. Additionally, CSI: Vegas had nearly doubled its viewership in its last season (via Programming Insider), making it difficult to understand why CBS pulled the plug.
CBS’ last-minute cancelation of this series was disrespectful to the time the CSI creative team had devoted to CBS for over two decades.
Supposedly, CBS canceled CSI: Vegas and other shows, such as So Help Me Todd, to make room for new shows that were premiering the following year. However, this decision makes little sense, given CSI: Vegas’ popularity. Additionally, the series didn’t get a proper finale because of this cancelation. CBS’ last-minute cancelation of this show felt disrespectful to the time the CSI creative team had devoted to it for over two decades.
NCIS: Los Angeles suffered from many of the same problems as Blue Bloods. Both procedurals were canceled after 14 seasons even though they still had large fan bases. In NCIS: Los Angeles’ case, its untimely ending also left a gaping hole in a popular franchise. While the original NCIS was still going strong and CBS ordered additional spinoffs, NCIS: Los Angeles offered a unique spin on the original concept. This series featured heart-pounding action and was far faster-paced than its parent series, appealing to audiences who loved a higher-energy approach.
The network eliminated a unique and popular part of the NCIS franchise and counted on its sister shows to make up the difference.
This cancelation thus underscores the questionable way that CBS’ renewal decisions are impacting its lineup. The network eliminated a unique and popular part of the NCIS franchise and counted on its sister shows to make up the difference. This is unfortunate, as no other NCIS show has quite the same feel. Thus, the network’s quest to save money risked losing audiences who loved the action-packed Los Angeles-based series.
