We have bad news for fans of some of the bubble shows on CBS.
The network went on a cancellation spree Thursday afternoon, canceling Magnum P.I., Good Sam, and How We Roll.
Magnum P.I.’s cancellation comes as a big shock.
It has been holding up well on Fridays, pulling in comparable numbers to the other shows CBS has scheduled on the night.
Magnum P.I. Season 4 averaged 7.4 million viewers and a 0.7 rating with a week of DVR factored in.
These numbers are very good, but it looks like the network is moving in a very different direction.
Who knows, maybe the show could materialize somewhere else down the line.
Good Sam’s cancellation is not much of a surprise.
The Sophia Bush drama launched in January and was saddled with low ratings since its premiere.
It did get a bit of a boost on the DVR front (averaging 4 million viewers and a 0.5 rating), but this was not enough to move the needle.
The show also tried out a One Tree Hill reunion, and while the numbers inched up, it was not substantial enough to keep the show afloat.
It followed Sam (Bush), a genius heart surgeon took on the leadership role as the chief of surgery after her boss Griff (Jason Isaacs), a renowned doctor who also happened to be her dad, fell into a coma.
Their fraught relationship was the main source of drama on the show, especially when Griff woke up months later demanding to resume his duties.
CBS also pulled the plug on B Positive, a comedy series that spent much of its two seasons on the bubble.
It was canceled on the same day fellow Chuck Lorre comedy United States of Al got the pink slip.
Lorre’s years-long relationship with CBS was expected to help at least one of the shows eke out a renewal.
However, we might be seeing an exodus of comedies on the broadcast networks as they look to zero in on cheaper programming.
How We Roll also got canceled Thursday.
The series is averaging 4.6 million viewers and a 0.4 rating in the demo, meaning that a cancellation was likely.
CBS has already renewed Young Sheldon, FBI, The Neighborhood, The Equalizer, NCIS, Ghosts, FBI: International, FBI: Most Wanted, NCIS: Hawai’i, Bob Hearts Abishola, NCIS: Los Angeles, SWAT, Blue Bloods, and CSI: Vegas.
What are your thoughts on the decisions?
Hit the comments below.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.