The television world was shocked when word dropped that the CBS drama So Help Me Todd was canceled after two seasons on the network.
It was surprising because the series, while not the network's most-watched, was doing well in the ratings, and considering the state of broadcast television, a series averaging six million viewers in +7 ratings should be a lock for renewal.
But that wasn't the case, and it has us, as well as its ardent fans, seriously perplexed.
When any show gets canceled, there are various first reactions. Unfortunately, some shows have cancelation written all over them, while sometimes the news does catch people off guard.
So Help Me Todd falls into the latter, which could be a decision that haunts the Eye Network.
Why Was So Help Me Todd Canceled?
Isn't that the biggest question of them all?
CBS is the land of major, long-standing series, with the likes of NCIS, FBI, and their various spinoffs on the schedule.
They're also home to one of broadcast television's biggest new hits, Tracker, which was renewed for Season 2 last month. Elsbeth, the Good Wife spinoff, was also recently picked up for a second helping.
CBS is lucky to have several viable and well-performing dramas on its slate, but with new series on the horizon for the next television season, some tough decisions had to be made, and both So Help Me Todd and CSI: Vegas were the odd men out.
Even though both series were the lowest rated on the network, So Help Me Todd, in particular, was still garnering heavy views, especially in relation to broadcast network ratings as a whole.
Still, it wasn't enough to justify renewal when it was still lowly rated amongst CBS's dominating dramas.
Does So Help Me Todd Deserve Another Season?
The quick answer is yes, if for no other reason than it was one of the most original, quirky, and entertaining shows you'll find these days.
Legal dramas can be a dime a dozen depending on the year, but legal comedy dramas are much rarer and more challenging to pull off.
The set-up for So Help Me Todd is basic in its quest to show the fragile but ultimately impactful relationship between wayward son Todd Wright, a private investigator without a license and slowly careening toward a cliff, and his strong-willed mother, Margaret, who brings Todd on to work alongside her at her law firm.
The two often clash, with Todd a more brash millennial who doesn't particularly play by the rules, while Margaret's more sensible and doesn't always agree with Todd's methods.
There are various other characters, including Todd's sister, Allison, and the other in-house investigator at the firm, Lyle, who help to round out the well-balanced cast, which has chemistry in spades.
The series straddles the line between drama and comedy well, allowing serious issues to be treated with the respect they deserve and refusing to take themselves too seriously.
There's much to be said for a fun viewing experience, and that's what the series is. It's charming, with a solid foundation in the form of its stellar leads.
Marcia Gay Harden is a proven actress, and she gives her all to Margaret, who could easily be written off as a stick in the mud.
But she's a lot deeper than that, and Harden's ability to lend Margaret the right amount of stubbornness and motherly love shines through in her interactions with all her children.
Skylar Astin deserved this role and the opportunity to lead a show, and he didn't let anyone down. He's the perfect Todd --bumbling and over his head at times but full of heart, charm, and depth.
You walk away from every episode, usually wanting to give everyone, all the characters, a warm hug.
How many series can you confidently say that about?
This isn't a series that needed to find its footing, as it established what kind of show it wanted to be from the start and always stayed within that. They found the formula that worked, leaned into it, and produced an endearing family-centered legal dramedy.
They deserved better.
Are Original Ideas Slowly Dying On Broadcast Television?
When the cancelation news hit, the first thing I thought of was how we were once again losing a series that wasn't tied to a franchise and what a shame that was.
And that's not taking anything away from franchises. There's a reason a spinoff gets greenlit in the first place: there's a demand for more of that universe.
But with each spinoff, prequel, or reboot, an original idea is discarded, and ultimately, the audience misses out on experiencing something fresh.
So Help Me Todd was fresh.
Legal dramedies aren't new, right? Ally McBeal is forever a classic and the standard, and least for my generation when you think about the genre. (And in the least shocking news ever, rumors have swirled about an Ally McBeal sequel for years).
But this show wasn't like anything else on television, a uniqueness that many fans appreciated as a welcome respite from the medical, fire, and cop shows that you can find on every channel.
Again, that's no shade on those series, a lot of which I also enjoy, but it does start to feel like we're heading toward a time when original concepts are being phased out in favor of proven commodities.
Why risk attracting a new audience when you can dress up something they know in a new font?
Even if it's the popular thing to do nowadays, spinoffs and reboots don't always guarantee success, especially as audiences start to fight back against the onslaught of unoriginal programming.
It's a shame that we'll be getting fewer series like So Help Me Todd, which could have potentially spawned one of these franchises the networks are so keen to expand.
Will Another Network Pick It Up?
Unfortunately, as much as things have changed in the last few years, much for the worse, the addition of various streaming networks has given additional lives to programs whose time was cut short.
Manifest, once an NBC original, was canceled and swiftly picked up by Netflix. NBC also saved the day for Magnum P.I. when CBS cut it loose.
SEAL Team wasn't canceled directly by CBS, but it did move over to Paramount+ to continue its lengthy run.
That said, there are options here, but it remains to be seen whether another network or streamer will pick up the series.
It has many advantages, including a large audience, but the fans would definitely need to make some noise, and the powers that be would have to make it all make sense financially.
You can never say never. In this odd television era, we've seen both cancelations and renewals overturned, but as it stands right now, the series finale of So Help Me Todd will air on May 16.
You can watch the final episodes of So Help Me Todd on Thursdays at 9/8c on CBS.