Rumors that CBS have canceled Murphy Brown has been floating around online, with poor ratings being blamed for the decision.
In a report from TV By The Numbers, it was reiterated that CBS has not ordered any new episodes of the program. Season 1 of the reboot was only scheduled to be 13 episodes, of which the fall finale will air on December 20.
The report also states that no official cancellation announcement has been made by CBS, giving some fans hope that the reboot could survive. The bad news, though, is that the website is also calling it a “dead show walking” at this point. The belief is that the cancellation confirmation is coming.
That DSW rating is given to shows that are “all but officially canceled yet still airing.”
“How lucky am I to be working with my friends on #MurphyBrown?!?! I’d love to share some of that experience with you through these behind the scenes black and white photographs.” – Joe Regalbuto pic.twitter.com/ahlW8ZPb0s
— Murphy Brown (@MurphyBrownCBS) December 10, 2018
Murphy Brown ratings
For the season, the Murphy Brown ratings have not been impressive. In the key demographic of viewers aged 18-49, the show garnered a 0.75 mark last Thursday night. That’s a poor number for the network in that time slot. The last episode also only had 5.97 million estimated viewers.
Through 11 episodes for the reboot, the show is averaging about 0.86 in the key demographic and 6.19 million viewers. Those overall numbers are helped a bit by the first two episodes, as it premiered decently. The past four episodes have been under six million estimated viewers, with one of them marked at under five million.
256…reasons why #MurphyBrown is an American hero! #AdoptDontShop pic.twitter.com/fkJXYMfrtv
— Murphy Brown (@MurphyBrownCBS) December 7, 2018
Is Murphy Brown canceled?
The answer to this specific question is that CBS has not officially brought an end to the show. It still has the potential for more seasons, but as it stands, the outlook is not very good. There are still two more episodes left to enjoy on the fall schedule, but fans should probably plan for this to be the end of the sitcom.
Murphy Brown airs Thursday nights at 9:30/8:30c on CBS.