Slicing and Dicing

Thus it begins… The first cancellation of the season on CBS.

Per the comments on Deadline Hollywood, most were surprised that it wasn’t 9JKL, but the other freshman series, the single-camera, Me, Myself and I.

The timeslot didn’t fare well, but some thought it was maybe Bobby Moynihan that had difficulty carrying the show.

The Eye instead gave a second season earlier than anticipated to Man with a Plan, starring Matt LeBlanc.

9JKL is now moving to the 9:30 pm time slot effective immediately. This could lead to the death of that show though because moving a freshman comedy barely a month in may not bode well with new viewers who are just becoming accustomed to a new schedule. Also, that timeslot was one of the big reasons that apparently killed Me, Myself and I.

A good concept, popular with critics, but not with audiences it seems. Moving timeslots may not resurrect the ratings, but make them worse.

That saying, “getting set up to fail,” seems to be what is happening for 9JKL.

A re-run of The Big Bang Theory will be put in 9JKL’s former time slot next week then, Man with a Plan takes the 8:30 pm time slot the week following.

Just last week the network wanted to try and not move the timeslots of the freshman comedies, but with this move to 9:30 pm, 9JKL could be on the cutting board next.

The new Kevin Can Wait lead in saw a huge drop in ratings for 9JKL unlike

The Big Bang Theory. How big? According to The Wrap 9JKL lost 49%, almost half, of its audience last Monday.

The good news is that CBS ordered 3 more episodes of 9JKL, so they’re hopeful. It will be interesting to see if they will continue to order more episodes later. However, without The Big Bang Theory lead-in, who knows?

What is interesting are these changes make for an all multi-cam comedy lineup Monday nights for CBS until Scorpion finishes out primetime.