NBC gives ‘Sean Saves the World’ five more episodes, close to full season

While “Sean Saves the World” may not have altogether been saved itself from cancellation just yet, NBC is clearly feeling pretty generous when you just stop for a second and think about where some of the ratings for the series have been as of late. The show is getting a pickup for five more episodes, which brings the total for the season up to 18. That is a pretty solid number that is a worthwhile achievement, but at the same time, this is a show that clearly still has a mountain of work left to do if it wants the show at being around longer.

What NBC really just showed us with this is that they don’t have a lot of confidence in their comedies the rest of the way. They will likely keep this show on until the middle of spring, and then test something else that could be a surprise breakout hit. “Sean Saves the World” probably only has a shot at being renewed right now because all of the network’s comedies are performing terribly.

This move does at least shore up what the schedule will look like for at least a little while longer. “Community’ returns to the air on January 2, and it will be paired with “Parks and Recreation.” Meanwhile, the Sean Hayes comedy will continue to be programmed as an hour alongside Michael J. Fox, who received a full-season order before his show even came on the air. That show has really suffered from not having much of an edge, and for Fox being a little too much of a nice guy in comparison to the parts that he played on “Family Ties” or “Spin City.”

In the end, there’s no other way to say this: NBC is a mess. The show with the best chance of coming back right now may ironically be “Community,” just so that fans can have their “six seasons and a movie” fantasy come true.

Photo: NBC