Why was Man with a Plan canceled after four seasons?
Man With a Plan was among the list of shows canceled by CBS, and the only established comedy saying goodbye. Why was the decision made?
When CBS announced its list of renewals, Man With a Plan wasn’t there. It was the only established comedy to be canceled in the 2019-2020 season. Now the question is why the Matt LeBlanc-led series was canceled after four seasons.
This was a surprising decision when you look at the TV Series Finale rankings for CBS. Man With a Plan was the eighth most popular show in terms of the demo out of all 26 shows. It was the 13th most popular in terms of the total audience. It’s not surprising that many people thought that it would be renewed.
The problem may come with the drop in the demo. Despite ticking up 16% in the total audience from the previous season, the demo dropped almost 15%. It’s the demo that counts the most for the advertisers. With a large drop year on year, CBS may have worried that not enough people would have tuned in. Plus, the total audience rising was mostly due to people being home to watch live.
Lower risk to cancel
CBS is working on a risk assessment like it never has before. It needs to test out pilots without even seeing the finished work. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many pilots didn’t get the chance to film. Without seeing the quality, CBS has to decide whether it’s safer to keep an established or freshman show compared to bringing on a new series. In some cases, the risk assessment can prove that bringing on a new show is safer.
This could be due to the cost of Man With a Plan. Matt LeBlanc’s production could be one of the more costly comedies due to the talent involved. There will also be the fear that it won’t draw in the audience next season.
Where to put it in the schedule
This season, Man With a Plan was pushed to the spring. This was a sign that CBS was concerned about its future. With fall shows possibly not being able to film in July to be ready for September and October, they will likely need to be pushed to January 2021. That then pushes the winter shows to the spring and the spring shows to the summer. There will be questions about where to fit Man With a Plan into the 2020-2021 schedule.
Instead of bringing on another pilot, CBS may have decided to cut out a show entirely. This will help to get things back on track for the fall 2021 schedule when it comes.
MORE: Why did CBS cancel Broke after just one season?
What did you think about the decision to cancel Man With a Plan? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Man With a Plan continues on Thursdays at 8:30/7:30c on CBS and CBS All Access.
We are so disappointed that they’ve cancelled this show! They had great people on it & it was really enjoyable, given all the garbage they tend to put on! It would be nice if they could get picked up by another network like Last Man Standing did! They didn’t even have the thought to even make the last show like a finale! Boo CBS!!! Another show people LIKED tossed!!
You are CRAZY!!!! its a great show. So you can try too put something that will fail in its place? like always……..What a joke!!!!!!!!! why not just put it on another night???????
I am very upset- first of all , with the world the way it is now- there is little to look forward too- I truly looked forward to the laughs – its unfortunate that the people in the tower get to choose- clearly they have no regard for the actual “real ” people that watch shows-
very disappointed-
mmmm man with a plan or some half baked reality show about people on a island fight? OMG lets have the reality show
Man with a plan was a grea show. So funny and creative in their lines. Only show on CBS I watched.
My wife and I loved that show. It was our favorite. Right now more than ever we need to have a show like that to make people laugh. We are pretty tired of all the cop, medical, fire and drama shows on TV. It’s on every channel now.
My Husband and I absolutely loved “Man with a Plan” and were so disappointed that the seasons are so short and now to find out this show has been cancelled by CBS. CBS lineup has been struggling the past few years with low budget shows. The only good series still on is NCIS. I hope CBS considers airing “Man with a plan” again.
Man with a plan was so fun and good hearted. Kevin Nealon was in top form, as was everyone else! I hope Netflix keeps this one going ive been watching over there now. CBS blew it
Man with a plan is a great show. I don’t understand why cbs would cancel this over all the other garbage they show. This was this only show I can watch and not worry about my kids hearing the content.
Please bring back Man with a Plan. Best show on TV. Always looked forward to watching it. What was CBS thinking? SMH. Big disappointment.