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A Real Rarity: CBS Uncancels A Cancelled TV Series A Week Later
I never watched S.W.A.T. and apparently no one at CBS thought viewers did either. So last week, they cancelled the show after six seasons. That prompted star Shemar Moore to issue a profane rant against the network on social media, insisting that they'd made a huge mistake. And indeed, S.W.A.T. was one of the few shows that actually seemed to be gaining audience towards the end of its run.
And now, in a major reversal of fortune, the Eye Network blinked and has officially renewed the series for one final season on the network. It's a very unusual move that happens so rarely, I'm hard pressed to think of another example that didn't involve a show being saved by a different network. (There are plenty of those, the latest being Magnum P.I. which was picked up by NBC after CBS gave it the boot.)
Will & Grace left NBC, only to return to the Peacock Network a few years later to pick up the storyline.
CBS tried and failed to revive its once popular Murphy Brown with most of the original cast.
Family Guy was returned by Fox, but not until a few years had gone by.
But having a series renewed just a few days after it was blown out by the same network? That's very rare. The only other one I can think of is "Jericho," about a Kansas town that survived a nuclear war. When fans bombarded CBS with packages of nuts (after a famous line from the last episode) they reconsidered and brought it back for one final season.
The other one that comes to mind was, believe it or not, the original Star Trek on NBC, which was slated to be lost in space after two seasons in 1968. A massive letter writing campaign led studio head Julian Goodman to reconsider and give it one more try. The ratings weren't great in the third season and it finally crashed the following year. But those reruns have been seen ever since.
Which means S.W.A.T.. joins a small and elite group of programs that came back from the dead just after they had their near-death experience. But CBS has made it clear this is just a stay of execution. It will definitely not return after its now final season next year.
Still, it's a very rare feat, proving that S.W.A.T. was a show they couldn't swat away. And it becomes a rare piece of TV history.
‘S.W.A.T.’ Star Shemar Moore, Creator Shawn Ryan React To Renewal News; “We Did It!”
- mace
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Re: A Real Rarity: CBS Uncancels A Cancelled TV Series A Week Later
NBC did Star Trek no favours by scheduling it Friday nights opposite Gomer Pyle and the CBS Friday Night Movie in seasons two and three. I believe Cagney & Lacey was another CBS series that was uncancelled twice!! by some cast changes and a letter writing campaign.
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Re: A Real Rarity: CBS Uncancels A Cancelled TV Series A Week Later
The last first run episode of the original series, June 3, 1969.
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Thread Starter- RadioActive
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Re: A Real Rarity: CBS Uncancels A Cancelled TV Series A Week Later
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Thread Starter- RadioActive
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Re: A Real Rarity: CBS Uncancels A Cancelled TV Series A Week Later
And once again, everything old is new again. This isn't exactly an "uncancelation." It's more a "why are you doing this again?" CBS, the same network that just saved S.W.A.T., a retread of an old show, is bringing back yet another oldie - Matlock.
But of course, in these modern times, Matlock, once played by Andy Griffith in the original, is now a woman, portrayed by Kathy Bates.
It makes you wonder if there are any new ideas in Hollywood anymore. Or are they just remaking everything with a new twist?
By the way, there is at least one actually new CBS series on the way for whenever the writers settle their strike and start working on new scripts - and this one surrounds radio. Damon Wayans is the star of "Poppa's House," in which he plays a "legendary talk radio host who has his point of view challenged at work when a new female co-host is hired."
Sounds like half the show will be work-related while the rest will be family oriented. But it's nice to see radio - however much of a stretch - actually be part of a TV show again.
CBS Series Orders: Good Wife Spinoff, New Matlock, Wayans Sitcom Greenlit
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Thread Starter- mace
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Re: A Real Rarity: CBS Uncancels A Cancelled TV Series A Week Later
RadioActive wrote:
Another series that sort of falls into this category is Naked City. The cop drama premiered in the fall of 1958 as a 30 minute series on ABC. Even with a strong lead-in from The Rifleman, the series was no match for Red Skelton. After the 59-60 season, ABC brought Naked City back in a 60 minute format with a new cast in September 1960. It would run for the next three seasons in the Wednesday 10pm timeslot.