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THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 2/19/21

Here's a look at my Top 5 TV news stories of the week!

#1 - "MOM" WILL END WITH SEASON 8
CBS announced the endings of two veteran shows this week and most notable for me is Mom. The Chuck Lorre sitcom will end on May 6 after eight seasons. Mom has been through many incarnations. It was originally focused on a newly sober woman with her recently sober mother and pregnant teenage daughter. Over time, the family element became much less pronounced and the series shifted to a comedy about a group of women who all attend AA together. The series was then rocked again when star Anna Faris departed this past summer. This marks the second series this year, along with Superstore, that lasted just one season after its star left the show. It wasn't always consistent but at its best, Mom could be really great. It really managed to find humor in situations that could be quite dire and sad sometimes. It dealt with a serious topic head-on but never felt too dramatic or too much like a "very special episode." It had a unique voice but I do think it was time for it to end.

#2 - ONE "NCIS" ENDING, ANOTHER BEGINNING?
The other long running CBS show coming to an end this year is NCIS: New Orleans. The youngest of the NCIS shows, it will end after seven seasons. The Scott Bakula led series did well when it aired behind the original NCIS show but it has been struggling in the Sunday 10pm slot recently which is where CBS shows go to die. The creative team will also reportedly start working on NCIS: Hawaii as a new spinoff for the franchise but it has not received an official series order. Elsewhere in the CBS procedural universe, there may be a third FBI series as FBI: International is being developed. If it goes to series, CBS will hope it fares better than the last international spin on a franchise, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders. 

#3 - "THE BACHELOR" CONTROVERSY
The Bachelor franchise founds itself embroiled in controversy this week as host Chris Harrison is stepping aside from the franchise, at least for now, after defending a frontrunner on The Bachelor season this year following revelations of racist social media photos and posts. Harrison's staunch defense did not sit well with many and it's sort of odd that he chose to wade into the controversy at all when he could have just left it alone. It's hard to know whether he'll be back or not. One one hand, he is a huge piece of the franchise and his actions are reprimandable but perhaps not worthy of firing. On the other hand, we've often seen temporary suspensions or "stepping asides" turn into permanent departures.

#4 - "WEDNESDAY" ORDERED AT NETFLIX
The most interesting development news of the week came from Netflix. The streamer has given an eight episode series order to Wednesday, a live action adaptation of the popular Addams Family character under the direction of Tim Burton. This is notable not just because it sounds cool but because it marks Burton's first foray into TV.

#5 - RENEWALS THIS WEEK
Renewals this week included CBS's two Monday comedies. The Neighborhood will be back for a fourth season and Bob Hearts Abishola will return for a third. These two shows have been solid performers all season. Also renewed was Netflix's Fate: The Winx Saga for a second season and Shudder's Creepshow for a third season ahead of its second season premiere.

Check back next week for a new week of blog posts!
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