Is Training Day canceled? Saturday move after Bill Paxton death sends chilly message
Less than two weeks after the show’s star Bill Paxton died, the network’s made a decision to move the series over to Saturday nights at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time following new episodes of Ransom. The move will come into effect on Saturday, April 8, and this move does signal some danger.
Is Training Day canceled? Not officially, but this move does show the cold nature of the TV business at times. While keeping the show on the air in its previous timeslot would have better enabled CBS to honor Paxton’s memory to the biggest audience of viewers, it didn’t produce the ratings that they wanted to keep it there. This marks the second straight midseason misfire for the network, since they already canceled Doubt effectively and placed Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders in that timeslot. We can only hope that they have a little more luck with whatever they decide to put in the spot next year. This timeslot is ripe for the taking, but no network can seize it.
As for what the eventual replacement for the show will be on Thursdays, get ready for The Amazing Race. That show, previously scheduled for Fridays, is going to take over that time after the NCAA Tournament. That’s a move that we’ll analyze more down the road.
In the end, this is a questionable move for a number of different reasons, mostly because we’re not sure how much more the Race would move the needle at the spot, and the network doing the right thing for fans of Paxton. Sure, you can argue that they are still airing the show, but how many viewers are around on Saturdays in order to watch it? As of late, Ransom has been lucky to average around a 0.4 rating, and in the end Training Day will be quite fortunate to even pull right around these sort of figures.
CBS will most likely make their official word on the show when we get around to May sweeps. There’s no reason for them to do anything before they get around to that point.
What do you think about not only the decision to pull Training Day, but also to do so following Paxton’s death? Is this a disservice to many of his fans? Share your thoughts now with a comment. (Photo: CBS.)