Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week!
It was announced this week that Krista Vernoff will be stepping down as showrunner of Grey's Anatomy and its spinoff, Station 19, at the end of the season. Vernoff took over as showrunner for Grey's in 2017 after creator Shonda Rhimes departed for Netflix and then she took on its wayward spinoff in 2019. Both shows have continued as cornerstones for the network ever since. Although this appears to be amicable in press releases, I wouldn't be surprised if there was still some hard feelings over ABC abruptly cancelling the first show Vernoff created that went to series, Rebel, after just a few episodes in Spring 2021. This is the second major departure for Grey's Anatomy this season as its leading lady, Ellen Pompeo, will be leaving the series when it returns from its winter hiatus. Both dramas will probably still get renewed as they have weathered many departures before but I have to think Grey's will be winding down soon. Of course I thought that about ten years ago too.
There were a lot of renewals this week, especially for broadcast shows. Most notable were the renewals of Bob's Burgers, Family Guy and The Simpsons for two more seasons each, taking them through the 2024-25 season. Many have been predicting the ends of these shows in their current form (on FOX) for years and it still has not come to fruition. For The Simpsons, this latest renewal will take it through an incredible 36th season. Also renewed this week were CBS Monday comedies The Neighborhood for a sixth season and Bob Hearts Abishola for a fifth season. CBS has been slowly renewing several of its shows very early this year to the point that there will probably be very few bubble shows left soon. Netflix renewed The Recruit for a second season after its quiet post-Christmas premiere. The streamer also renewed Cobra Kai for a sixth and final season.
Along with renewals were many cancellations. CBS announced that NCIS: Los Angeles will end with its current 14th season. The long running drama was given enough notice to be able to craft a proper series finale, something that has not always been afforded to long running CBS dramas. We will soon be down to just two NCIS shows for the first time since 2014. Elsewhere, HBO Max cancelled former DC Universe shows Doom Patrol and Titans. Both will end with the back half of their fourth seasons, airing at a later date. Apple TV+ cancelled The Mosquito Coast after two seasons while Peacock cancelled One of Us is Lying after two seasons and Vampire Academy after one.
#4 - TAYLOR KINNEY TAKING LEAVE OF ABSENCE FROM "CHICAGO FIRE"
It was announced last Friday that Taylor Kinney would be taking an abrupt personal leave from Chicago Fire. No reason was given other than the vague "personal reasons." Kinney has been with the show as Kelly Severide since its debut in 2012 and is a fan favorite on a show that has seen a lot of cast turnover, like most Dick Wolf procedurals. As someone who still watched Chicago Fire (I know, I know...), I hope Kinney returns sooner rather than later. The newer cast members aren't doing it for me and Kinney remains a reliable performer.
#5 - SCRIPTED PREMIERES THIS WEEK
Here's a look at this week's scripted premiere!
Today: Apple TV+ has the series premiere of Shrinking with Jason Segel and Harrison Ford. The comedy-drama comes from some of the team behind Ted Lasso so they have a lot of goodwill from Apple but this seems to be the type of show that might be an acquired taste.
Monday: Freeform has the premiere of The Watchful Eye, a mystery drama that doesn't seem to have a lot of buzz compared to some other Freeform shows that at least seem to have decent awareness levels.
Wednesday: Syfy has the premiere of The Ark. Similar to Freeform, Syfy is one of the few cable channels actively staying in the scripted business and they have had some recent success, most notably with Chucky.
Thursday: Netflix has the premiere of Freeridge, a spinoff of their series On My Block, which ran on Netflix from 2018-2021. It's hard to know with Netflix but On My Block seemed to have a solid following. We'll see if they come back for this one.
My pick for the week:
The only show I'm interested in this week is Shrinking, which I think looks like a really interesting show and one I'm excited to check out. Nothing else really appeals to me.
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