Cancelled and renewed

‘9-1-1’ bound for ABC

Cancelled and renewed:

In the rapidly shifting TV landscape, it appears even high ratings don’t guarantee a show will avoid cancellation.

A few weeks ago, Fox shocked everyone by announcing the cancellation of “9-1-1,” its highest-rated scripted series. Then, while fans and critics were still processing the sad news, ABC stepped in and quickly picked up the series, adding it to the network’s lineup for the 2023-24 season.

It’s one of the most highprofile network moves in recent history, and it all seemed to happen so fast. But as Deadline reported back in March, “9-1-1,” which hails from Disney’s 20th Television production division, was also Fox’s most expensive series due to costs associated with its visual effects and a bigname cast led by Oscar nominee Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” 2022).

Fox hasn’t owned the series since Disney acquired 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television) in 2019. Since then, season renewals have depended on the outcome of negotiations between the network and the studio over the reported “high-seven-figure license fee” (per Deadline, which estimated the cost at $9-10 million an episode) — and last year, an agreement for Season 6 was only reached at the last minute.

For Season 7, fans will have to switch channels and head to ABC next season, but spinoff series “9-1-1: Lone Star” is staying put at Fox, which officially renewed the Rob Lowe-led drama for a fifth season.

“Thanks to the creative drive of Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, as well as the talented cast, ‘9-1-1’ has been one of the most defining and original dramas on network television

over the last six seasons, and we are honored to bring it to the esteemed group of series on ABC,” Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group, said in a statement. “It’s a privilege to keep ‘9-1-1’ in the family with 20th Television producing, and we look forward to telling more heart-racing and uplifting stories about these beloved characters on our air.”

Fox also cancelled “The Resident” after its sixth season, but sadly, the medical drama doesn’t appear to be heading to another network.

Un-Cancelled: More cancellation drama played out at CBS, which announced earlier this month it had cancelled “S.W.A.T.” after six seasons.

Starring Shemar Moore (“The Young and the Restless”), the crime drama was a modern take on the 1970s cop show of the same name and a Friday night fixture on CBS. Sure, it wasn’t sitting at the top of the ratings like “9-1-1,” but it was a solid performer and managed to grow its audience this season, reaching an average of 6.82 million viewers in a seven-day period.

“For six seasons, the amazing talents of the ’S.W.A.T.’ cast, led by Shemar Moore, the writers, producers and crew guided by executive producers Shawn Ryan, Andy Dettman and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, brought us compelling, action-packed episodes that also addressed important social issues and contributed to the success of our primetime lineup,” Amy

Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment, said in a statement. “We sincerely thank them for their incredible work and passion and also thank our dedicated fans who tuned in every week.”

But wait: just two days later, and after fans rallied behind their show, CBS reversed its decision and handed “S.W.A.T.” a reprieve. The series will now be returning for a seventh and final season on CBS, and Moore, who took to Instagram to voice his disappointment when the cancellation was announced, will be credited as an executive producer.

Like “9-1-1,” licensing fees are to blame for this situation (“S.W.A.T.” is a coproduction of CBS Studios and Sony Pictures TV).

In a March interview with The Hollywood Reporter’s “TV’s Top 5” podcast, showrunner Shawn Ryan explained the new reality for broadcast TV: “It’s not the same place; the economics are completely different. Right now, it’s up in the air whether ’S.W.A.T.’ will get picked up for a seventh season, and that has nothing to do with ratings. You would never see that situation 15 years ago. ’S.W.A.T.’ is third in the demo at CBS; there’s no reason why the show shouldn’t be picked up other than the economics of the business are changing. CBS and Sony will or will not figure out a way to economically make a season seven work.”

Luckily, they figured out how to make it work — though the same can’t be said for the now-cancelled “East New York.”

Guest spot: One show that definitely isn’t cancelled, “Doctor Who,” is rolling out the carpet for “Glee” star Jonathan Geoff.

Geoff, who played Jesse in the popular musical series and Agent Smith in “The Matrix Resurrections” (2021), has been tapped for a key guest role — though few details about that role have been released.

You certainly won’t find any additional hints in the casting announcement, which included this statement from showrunner Russell T. Davies: “This is an incredible coup, and a great honor, to get such a huge star striding on to our set. So strap on your space boots; this is going to be a blast!”

We’ll just have to wait for new seasons of “Doctor Who,” which returns in November with three specials airing on Disney+.