‘Zoo’ season 2 official; CBS series renewed; fate of ‘Extant’ still unclear

The pattern for CBS and their summer scripted series continues. While none of their products since the first season of “Under the Dome” have been highly-rated, we have continually seen shows given more than one chance for a variety of different reasons … with the most prominent one being streaming deals. These shows go online either Amazon or Netflix quickly, and in the case of the James Patterson drama “Zoo,” it is the latter. The show only ended weeks ago, but it is already available for streaming.

CBS confirmed their season 2 renewal for “Zoo” today; new network programming head Glenn Geller had the following to say in a short statement:

“Zoo‘s thrilling stories clicked with audiences each week during a very competitive summer.”

Notice the word “competitive” being thrown in there, which is something that we like to think of as a certain cognizance from CBS that the show was not exactly hitting any home runs when it comes to its ratings. They were well aware of the fact that it was not a commercial smash, but that it was still doing enough to make it potentially profitable for at least one more year.

Ultimately, we feel like the plan here is going to be to give the show a chance to see if Netflix really does increase the demand by some viewers to watch live, though we’re not entirely sure how it would since binge-watchers will know that it will be available there not too long after the season finale airs. (If nothing else, CBS is making a lot of money licensing these episodes off.)

Excited by this renewal? Let us know your thoughts on way or another in the comments, and head over here if you’re interested in getting some further TV scoop sent over to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: CBS.)