CBS’ The Code, Ransom, Celebrity Big Brother last shows in limbo
Today, NBC officially canceled The Village, The Enemy Within, and Abby’s, and with that, they’ve turned the landscape of shows in limbo. Now, we’re in a situation where there are only a few different major network shows from the 2019-20 season still in some degree of major limbo — The Code, Celebrity Big Brother, and Ransom. Ironically, all three of them are currently airing over on CBS.
So, for the sake of clarity, let’s take a look at where all three of these shows stand at this particular moment in time.
The Code – The military legal drama is currently a longshot for renewal, mostly because of its lower ratings and because CBS is burying many of its remaining episodes in the summer. Its total viewer numbers are so-so, and we’d probably have more faith in it were it not for the fact that they canceled Code Black, a show with solid viewership, last year. Maybe CBS just really doesn’t like shows that have Code in their title?
Ransom – In this case, we’re looking at what may very well be one of television’s most unpredictable shows. What we do like about Ransom’s chances for season 4 is that CBS doesn’t have a huge financial investment in it. Because of that, it’s a far easier show to bring back on Saturday nights.
Celebrity Big Brother – At the moment, CBS hasn’t formally made a decision on the status of their reality competition, which aired throughout January and posted ratings that were down about 15% from the first go-around when it was an Olympics fill-in show. There’s a difficult trade-off with this show — unless there are big-name celebrities, a lot of viewers don’t want to watch it. However, bigger names means a bigger budget, and it’s hard to do that without a lot of viewers. That’s why there were probably at least one or two people in this past season you hadn’t heard of beforehand.
As for how long CBS has to make decisions on these shows, we expect something on The Code within the next few weeks. As for the others, there’s a little bit more time that can be given. Celebrity Big Brother can wait until the fall, and even if it’s not back for early next year, it could be coming back at some point after the fact such as the next time the Winter Olympics are on. Meanwhile, Ransom has some time, though we think there will be a decision made over the next few months — that will make it easier, after all, for the show to come back in early 2020.
Of the three shows mentioned, which one do you want to see back the most for another season and why? Be sure to share right now in the comments, and check back soon to get some other news on the show.