Is "The Neighborhood" The Most Unlucky Top Sitcom on American Broadcast Television?

[James28]

The Neighborhood debuted in 2018 during The Big Bang Theory's final season. Initial reviews weren't all that positive (for example, 24'% on Rotten Tomatoes and 50/100 on Metacritic. I wasn't pleased about Beth Behrs's casting on The Neighborhood, or any CBS series for that matter, after her previous sitcom on CBS, 2 Broke Girls, got cancelled in 2017 without a proper send off. after its sixth season. Then, the episode orders for The Neighborhood's third season was reduced to 18 episodes and sixth seasons were reduced because of the COVID-19 Pandemic and its sixth season was reduced to 10 episodes because of "StrikeMageddon" (aka the dual writers and actors strikes). The Neighborhood has never really been the top sitcom in all of American broadcast television because of Young Sheldon, which is single camera. And as of fall 2024, The Neighborhood is no longer America's top multi-camera sitcom at all because of Georgie's and Mandy's First Marriage. The Neighborhood was denied an opportunity to air after the Super Bowl twice first by The World's Best, a HUGE failure during its first season, and then by the premiere of the 2021 version of The Eqqualizer 2021. It is particularly disappointing that CBS has never aired a sitcom in the post-Super-Bowl slot in the modern era. which started in 1996 when NBC put Friends - a sitcom - after Super Bowl XXX. If CBS had just gone ahead and aired The Neighborhood after either Super Bowl LIII or LV, its viewership would have gotten a boost of at least one million higher than in real life, and maybe then it would occasionally beat Young Sheldon from time to time. And lastly, at least on KARZ (my local MyNetworkTV affiliate), The Neighborhood's syndicated reruns were shifted from 6pm to Midnight, Central Time, to make room for Bob Hearts Abishola, The Neighborhood's lead out during BHA's entire five-year run on CBS.

The Neighborhood just got a bit less unlucky in March 2025, with its renewal for an eighth and final season. There had recently been plans to launch spinoffs of both it and The Equalizer 2021 for 2025-26, which would have meant both shows getting cancelled without proper sendoffs in favor of said spinoffs because space on the broadcast networks is always tight. And last month, such plans were scrapped. The Equalizer 2021 was cancelled without a real sendoff anyway before its fifth-season finale, so now it's the unlucky one. and The Neighborhood is the better long-term player.

[Blackout]

Glad we're getting 1 final season to enjoy

[James28]

For their original airings on December 1 and 8, 2025, The Neighborhood and DMV switched their Monday night timeslots. The problem with this is DMV is an unproven freshman, and it has to be veterans in anchor slots, and freshmen (or sometimes younger veterans) in hammock slots. I hope this swap isn't made permanent for The Neighborhood's final episodes (which IceCream suggested on the CBS 2025-26 news and discussion thread), because that will be seen as a demotion/burial, and The Neighborhood has already had enough bad luck throughout its run as it is. Those two sitcoms, after their February 23 original airings, will already be back on the timeslots they had occupied before the swap, with The Neighborhood leading off Mondays like it had been since its 2018 premiere. Just a bad idea that should never have been thought of.

Another reason why that timeslot swap was a bad idea: DMV isn't among the CBS shows that have been renewed for 2026-27.

[icecream]

Originally Posted by James28

For their original airings on December 1 and 8, 2025, The Neighborhood and DMV switched their Monday night timeslots. The problem with this is DMV is an unproven freshman, and it has to be veterans in anchor slots, and freshmen (or sometimes younger veterans) in hammock slots. I hope this swap isn't made permanent for The Neighborhood's final episodes (which IceCream suggested on the CBS 2025-26 news and discussion thread), because that will be seen as a demotion/burial, and The Neighborhood has already had enough bad luck throughout its run as it is. Those two sitcoms, after their February 23 original airings, will already be back on the timeslots they had occupied before the swap, with The Neighborhood leading off Mondays like it had been since its 2018 premiere. Just a bad idea that should never have been thought of.

Another reason why that timeslot swap was a bad idea: DMV isn't among the CBS shows that have been renewed for 2026-27.

To be clearer I thought CBS might do this, but was not advocating it. And now with DMV being left off of the mass renewals, it is probably a goner. It looks like they will finally pick up more than one new sitcom for next season.