For some, spring means hanging out at the Staller Steps, weekend trips to Jones Beach or studying for finals, but, for a select few, spring means only one thing—the soul crushing loss of a TV show ending or going on summer hiatus.
Whether or not a show gets renewed largely determines the buildup to the finale. Will it be a series or season finale that awaits a television program? Much of the suspense of a show stems from this.
Sunday’s “The Walking Dead” season finale has everyone talking. It is one of the first major shows to end this spring, and it is likely not going to be the last season finale that has everyone up in arms.
Lucky for many viewers, CBS and FOX have already renewed multiple shows in their line-ups. “How I Met Your Mother,” “2 Broke Girls” and “The Big Bang Theory” will all be returning to CBS, so audiences can rest assured that they won’t be series finales.
FOX has also renewed many shows, like “The Mindy Project,” “Family Guy,” (let’s face it, that show will never die) and “New Girl.” “Glee” has yet to be renewed, but “The Hollywood Reporter” had stated that the show’s creator, Ryan Murphy, plans to have a serious cliffhanger and do something different than in previous seasons.
The teenage-targeted network, CW, has also renewed multiple shows. Most notable returners will be “Supernatural” and “The Vampire Diaries.” With the heavily-anticipated ending of “Gossip Girl” long since over, the CW is really going to need something to draw in viewers.
NBC and ABC are far more interesting at this point, with essentially no shows from either network renewed both of them have large audiences in the college demographic.
NBC, notorious for horrible ratings, has got quite a pickle on its hands. With “30 Rock” over and “The Office” soon to air its series finale, it’s going to leave quite a block in its comedy program, arguably what NBC is best known for. Unfortunately for “1600 Penn” and “Up All Night” fans (if there is anyone out there?) it looks like they might be getting series finales.
Far more interesting bubble shows that could get renewed or cancelled are Matthew Perry’s “Go On” and the internally struggling but critically acclaimed “Community.” At this point, “Community” might as well prepare a series finale at the end of every season it fights tooth and nail to get. “Go On” is a bit trickier. It started off strong, but ratings have been declining rapidly. This is one of the biggest toss-ups in TV this season.
As it stands, “Parks and Recreation” looks to be the most steady show NBC has.
ABC has a multitude of hits. “Happy Endings” has a cult following similar to “Community,” but since ABC ratings aren’t a train wreck, it just doesn’t make sense for ABC to keep it around. It’s expected that this show won’t make it for another season. On the bright side, popular hits like “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Revenge” and “Modern Family” are all doing superb, and their chances at renewal are far greater and almost guaranteed.
