Behind-the-Scenes Reason So Help Me Todd Was Canceled Despite Solid Ratings

Summary

• CBS is actively preparing its release schedule for the fall of 2024.
• Unlike many renewals, So Help Me Todd was cancelled.
• While not the highest-rated show, it has been very consistent in the ratings.

It's been nearly six months since the end of the unprecedented 2023 Hollywood labour disputes, which sent shockwaves through the entire entertainment industry with the suspension or cancellation of many popular and not-so-popular movies and TV series. Even now, however, the film and television industries do not seem to have fully recovered, as evidenced by distorted TV schedules, the shortening or bisection of new seasons of scripted shows, and sudden cancellations and renewals.

The case of CBS is particularly telling. While the network's flagship series such as Blue Bloods and Young Sheldon are in their final seasons, other projects are being actively renewed. Recently, CBS reversed its decision to cancel S.W.A.T. due to high ratings and picked up the police procedural for another season. The Good Wife spin-off Elsbeth has also been renewed for a second season.

Against this backdrop, however, there have also been a number of sudden cancellations, decisions that seem very wild considering that not long ago the TV industry was experiencing a shortage of scripted shows due to COVID-19 and WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Now, however, the situation is different and some series have had to make way for other projects due to low ratings. Turned out that the popular comedy-drama So Help Me Todd was also affected, but the reason for its cancellation was not viewership at all.

So Help Me Todd's Moderate Ratings

So Help Me Todd, which premiered in September 2022, follows Todd (Skylar Astin), a private detective who works for the Portland law firm of his mother, Margaret (Marcia Gay Harden). Both have extraordinary skills and knowledge, and sometimes they even manage to get along.

But the show wouldn't be a dramedy without a source of conflict. As such, Todd and Margaret have very different approaches to their craft: the mother, a practicing attorney, lives by a strict adherence to the law, while Todd is willing to suspend the law for the sake of investigation.

The series was received rather coldly by critics, but delighted many viewers. On Rotten Tomatoes, the critics' score is only 56%, while the audience score is a solid 87%.

Although some of the episodes were watched almost 5 million times during their run, the ratings were not high enough to call the show a definite hit on television, and this must have been one of the arguments for its cancellation after two seasons. However, that's clearly not the main reason, as So Help Me Todd's ratings beat out numerous other shows on CBS and other networks.

The Main Reason for the Cancellation

The main reason for this decision may be the aforementioned CBS schedule craziness this fall and beyond. The network has renewed or is preparing to premiere so many shows that So Help Me Todd simply could not fit into the upcoming primetime schedule, according to a report from Variety.

This is disappointing news considering the quality of the show, but perhaps all is not lost as the ratings, while not high enough, are not so low that there is no potential for the show to be picked up by another studio. Right now, So Help Me Todd fans are waging an active online campaign to save their favorite show.

And given that the viewership has been more than consistent over the course of two seasons, it's certainly possible that someone else will license the series for its 2024 TV premiere or air it on a streaming service altogether.

Two seasons of So Help Me Todd are currently available to stream on Paramount+.