The popular dramedy may never see the light of day again. At least not on CBS.
While the media giants may have anticipated that the poor conditions and exploitation of film and television workers would cause uproar and discontent, they did not anticipate the magnitude of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes that have kept writers and actors on the picket lines for more than half a year. And even now, six months later, the entertainment industry is feeling the fallout, especially the traditional broadcast networks. They have still not been able to fully restore their 2024 schedules.
The situation at CBS is particularly striking. After last year’s drought in new scripted series, viewer demand for shows old and new is as strong as ever, leading to the renewal of popular projects and the announcement of many new ones.
And yet, along with the numerous positive updates, fans were also faced with the disappointing news that the fall season will not see the renewal of shows like CSI: Vegas, NCIS: Hawaii and So Help Me Todd. Speaking of the latter, how much of a second chance does So Help Me Todd still have?
CBS Chiefs Respond to Disappointing News
In this regard, Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach said that it was ‘incumbent to keep the schedule fresh and keep the momentum going,’ which is why many series had to be canceled. To clear the fall schedule for new premieres.
‘We had some tough choices this year,’ she said. ‘Everything came back very strong. There is a cohesive schedule, a flow.’
Unfortunately, the situation also affected So Help Me Todd, which was canceled after two seasons.
‘We certainly had a wonderful experience with So Help Me Todd. It was heartbreaking,’ CBS CEO George Cheeks added.
Why So Help Me Todd Got Canceled
So Help Me Todd, the legal comedy-drama that follows Todd (Skylar Astin), a private investigator who works for the Portland law firm of his mother, Margaret (Marcia Gay Harden), premiered in September 2022 and has since garnered less than stellar but solid ratings. The series has received a cool reception from critics, but has delighted many viewers. On Rotten Tomatoes, the critics’ score is only 56%, while the audience score is 87%.
Although some of the episodes were watched almost 5 million times during their run, the ratings were not high enough to call the show a definite hit on television, and this may have been one of the arguments for its cancellation after two seasons. Along with CSI: Vegas, So Help Me Todd was one of the least watched shows on television, ranking twenty-second with 6.224 million total views, according to Nielsen data.
Does the Show Have a Chance of Being Resurrected?
The cancellation of the series due to low ratings and CBS’ busy schedule is definitely disappointing news considering the quality of the show. But who knows, maybe there’s still a chance for a renewal? After all, So Help Me Todd fans are currently waging an active online campaign to save their favorite show.
Of course, the best outcome would be for So Help Me Todd to find a new home on Paramount+, a streaming service that, like CBS, is owned by Paramount Global.
However, Reisenbach and Cheeks dismissed any possibility of the drama getting a second chance on Paramount+. This may be due to the fact that it is simply not profitable for the company to work on reviving the show. Well, in this case we can only hope that someone outside of Paramount will be interested in the licensing project.
