Well, this has certainly turned out to be a weirder television season than anyone could have expected. Many shows had to shutdown production early and were then forced to end their seasons with finales that were actually one or more episodes away from the previously planned finale episode the showrunners had in mind. But, we're in May now, and as this is the time of year when shows tend to be renewed and cancelled en masse, we're finally getting to our first news of what's sticking around and what's saying goodbye after the 2019-2020 TV season is over. Unfortunately, this means that Pauley Perrette's new sitcom, Broke, along with the shows of some of her CBS cohorts, have now been cancelled.
CBS announced the cancellations today, and, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Broke is joining three other shows on the schedule in making their swan songs at the end of the current TV season. Edie Falco's cop drama Tommy, Patricia Heaton starrer Carol's Second Act, and the Matt LeBlanc family sitcom Man With a Plan will all be joining Broke in that big TV graveyard in the sky.
Broke
When Pauley Perrette decided to leave her gig as an original cast member of CBS' hit crime procedural NCIS behind in late 2017, fans were stunned, and didn't know when they'd be able to see one of their favorites on TV again after her last episode aired in May 2018. But, it didn't take long for Perrette to find something that suited her even better than her former role as Abby Sciuto, because she signed on for Broke in March of the following year, with the show premiering just a little over a month ago, on April 2.
Broke followed Pauley Perrette as feisty single mom Jackie, who feels forced to put up with her snobby sister and brother-in-law when they lose all of their money and come knocking on her door for a place to live (along with their loyal assistant / driver / friend) while adjusting to financial ruin. The estranged family then had to deal with class differences, as well as there now being too many folks in a small home, but it would seem that while fans loved Perrette on NCIS, Broke was not enough to their liking.
Man With A Plan
As one of the stars of possibly the biggest sitcom of the '90s through mid-'00s, Matt LeBlanc could have probably easily retired after he finished his run on Friends. While he tried to keep that magic going with Joey, he hit another comedy stride playing an outrageous version of himself on Showtime's Episodes, and then decided to head back to network sitcoms with Man With a Plan in the fall of 2016. While reviews for the show were lackluster, it's clear that fans enjoyed seeing LeBlanc back in a sitcom, which led to Man With a Plan being the longest-running show in this batch of cancellations.
Man With a Plan saw Matt LeBlanc's character take on additional parenting duties for his three children when his wife returned to work after being a full-time parent for 13 years. It's clear that the show connected with audiences for a time, as it just returned for Season 4 at the beginning of April. But, Man With a Plan was never a big hit for CBS, and the ratings fall that began in the second season continued into Season 3, and wasn't able to rebound to the relative highs of Season 1 after it's recent debut.
Tommy
Tommy saw Sopranos alum Edie Falco return to TV after another long run on a very different, but still prestigious show: Nurse Jackie. Fans were, once again, excited to hear that Falco would be coming back to television, this time on network TV as the first female Chief of Police in Los Angeles on Tommy. The drama debuted in early February to average views, with most saying that Falco was the real key to any success the show might see.
Ratings for Tommy were likely a lot lower than the ones CBS was hoping to see for a police procedural starring an actor as beloved as Edie Falco, so while the weekly numbers were never a complete disaster, clearly the network felt that the hour it had devoted to Tommy would be better served elsewhere.
Carol's Second Act
Just like Edie Falco, Patricia Heaton had come off of two major hits by the time she landed on CBS with Carol's Second Act. Known for her runs on long-time sitcom favorites Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle, she headed back to the network that helped raise her profile for a new comedy.
Carol's Second Act saw Patricia Heaton's Carol try for her dream job as a doctor after raising a family, getting divorced and leaving her career as a teacher in her 50s. The series made its debut in September, and while it was a consistent performer for CBS, its ratings and total viewer averages were down 25 and 17 percent, respectively, from what the Murphy Brown revival did in the same timeslot in the previous season. That, added with some behind the scenes issues, probably led to the network deciding to give it the boot.
While these cancellations are certainly tough blows for the fans of each series, CBS did renew 15 scripted shows, which now join Young Sheldon, Evil and Mom in getting to shine for another year.
Until we see how CBS' new schedule shakes out for the 2020-2021 season, be sure to check out our Netflix guide and see what's coming up on TV this summer!
