Code Black was renewed by CBS earlier this spring, but that renewal order soon came with a caveat: a lot of creative changes would be happening before Season 2 moved forward at the network. Unfortunately, those creative changes included cutting lead actors Raza Jaffrey and Bonnie Somerville from the lineup. The move was reportedly made to bring in more younger viewers during Season 2; however, a lot of fans who tuned in during Season 1 were unhappy with the changes. If you are wondering how Code Black’s creator feels about all of the changes to his TV show, you don’t have to wonder any longer. Michael Seitzman has been answering a slew of fan questions on social media this weekend and his feelings regarding the changes boil down to this:
No answer I give will be satisfying to either of us. It sucks… Nobody — nobody — enjoyed this… Decisions like this aren’t easy and are very complex.
It’s hard to be on social media when bad news happens. A slew of Code Black fans have been vocal with Michael Seitzman about their displeasure over the casting changes. However, in a Q&A session on Twitter Seitzman really tried to talk people down off the ledge, explaining that some of the decisions that had to be made were outside of his control and some of the decisions that were made happened because CBS felt Code Black needed to swing for the fences with Season 2 and try to pull in more viewers in the 18-49 demographic. It’s hard to tell how firing some of the show's younger cast members will accomplish that (Jaffrey and Somerville are in their early forties while other leads Marcia Gay Harden and Luis Guzman are pushing 60), but perhaps Code Black is looking to replace the fired cast members with interns or other people in their twenties or thirties.
Here’s a sampling of some of the other tough questions the executive producer answered head-on included responding to comments like "Who cares that you want changes, without them, there is no show."
Most people don’t respond well to change. CBS understands that, which is why TV shows like The Big Bang Theory and NCIS have lasted for years and years on the network. It’s also likely why we are getting changes leading into Season 2. The network is hoping that tinkering with Code Black will keep it on the air over the long haul. It’s hard to tell if the medical drama will be a long-term keeper at this point, but CBS is not messing around when it comes to the network’s originals these days. And hey, at least Code Black fared better than Limitless.
While there are some summer CBS shows on the schedule, major network TV programs like Code Black are not expected to return until next fall. However, we should learn who will be replacing Raza Jaffrey and Bonnie Somerville. We'll let you know as soon as we know. For now, you can check out what has been cancelled and renewed with our network rundown.
