CBS went out of the box for the 2018-2019 TV season with God Friended Me. The freshman series would combine comedy, drama, and religious themes in what could have been a thankless Sunday night time slot. The show has actually thrived in its run so far, and CBS has very good news for fans. God Friended Me has officially been renewed for Season 2.
After 13 episodes, God Friended Me ranks as CBS’ second-most-watched new show and the most-watched scripted series on Sunday, with an average of 10 million viewers. Despite my predictions that God Friended Me would flounder in its 8 p.m. Sunday night time slot thanks to NFL games throwing off the schedule, the show has flourished and found an audience. Apparently, God Friended Me is even beating CBS’ long-running hit NCIS: Los Angeles. Was there some divine intervention involved?
It’s no wonder that CBS is happy with God Friended Me, divine intervention or not. As one of the top three new series on the small screen, the show has significantly improved the ratings for the 8 p.m. CBS time slot on Sundays from what it was last year.
The show that premiered in that slot in the 2017-2018 TV season was none other than Wisdom of the Crowd. If that title doesn’t ring a bell with you, it’s probably because it definitely did not rank as one of the top new series on the small screen. The Jeremy Piven-led drama ran for only nine episodes before the cancellation order came down from CBS. That show averaged 7.39 million viewers at the time of its cancellation; God Friended Me’s 10 million average must look much better to the CBS brass.
Fans still have more of God Friended Me to look forward to before the wait begins for Season 2. Back in October, after only three episodes had aired, God Friended Me won the order for a full season of episodes on CBS. The full season order for God Friended Me came at the same time as full season orders for two other freshman shows: Magnum P.I. and The Neighborhood. Both of those shows -- along with Dick Wolf’s non-NBC procedural -- were renewed last week.
While God Friended Me isn’t quite as intense and cliffhanger-tastic as some other shows on primetime (including FBI), fans should still be relieved to know that they absolutely won’t be left with an unresolved cliffhanger no matter how Season 1 ends. A second season is happening. Now, can we vouch for what happens in Season 2 at this point? Absolutely not. But fans can definitely enjoy the rest of the ride for Season 1 and head into hiatus this spring without stressing over the show’s fate.
Tune in to CBS on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET for God Friended Me. If you’re looking for some new shows to hit the airwaves in the not-too-distant future, swing by our midseason TV premiere schedule.
