Renewals and Cancellations: 'English Teacher,' 'The Pitt,' 'Hysteria!,' 'Bookie'

There haven’t been many renewals or cancellations in recent weeks, and the ones that have happened have been spread out. But let’s go through them, starting with FX’s The English Teacher. The critically acclaimed show was renewed for a second season, presumably after FX weighed the fallout from the sexual misconduct allegations against its creator and star, Brian Jordan Alvarez. Maureen Ryan wrote a blistering condemnation of the decision over on Salon.

And here’s the thing: The culture has apparently moved beyond canceling stars for sexual misconduct. If this were a Tim Allen show, I’m guessing the scandal wouldn’t just have little effect—it might actually boost ratings, given the right’s tendency to rally behind its ostracized figures. (In fact, allegations that Tim Allen was “rude” on the set of The Santa Claus haven’t hurt Shifting Gears in the least.)

However, The English Teacher is a show made for and consumed by more progressive viewers — the very people (like our readership) who have little tolerance for this kind of behavior. Brian Jordan Alvarez is likely toxic to the exact audience this show relies on, and I can’t imagine any scenario in which these allegations don’t drastically cut into its viewership. I think it’s one of the best comedies of the last several years, and I wish it could move forward without its creator and star, but that’s not going to happen. Ultimately, I think renewing it will prove to be a mistake, one that will tarnish FX’s otherwise impeccable reputation.

There’s no such controversy over Max’s decision to renew The Pitt for another season. It may not be the best show on TV right now, but there’s no show I look forward to watching every week more. I also love that it’s getting 15 episodes — more than the typical cable series—and that another 15 episodes are expected next year.

A few weeks ago, Peacock killed its ’80s-set horror series Hysteria!, starring Julie Bowen. I tried it. I’m the exact audience for it, but it didn’t do much for me. I lost interest after a couple of episodes. Beyond Twisted Metal (sort of) and Poker Face, Peacock’s scripted fare has gone nowhere. Speaking of the latter, though, season two features a spectacular lineup of guest stars: John Mulaney, Ego Nwodim, Sam Richardson, Giancarlo Esposito, Katie Holmes, Kumail Nanjiani, Gaby Hoffman, BJ Novak, Margo Martindale, Justin Theroux, Natasha Rothwell, John Cho, and Haley Joel Osment, among others.

I genuinely don’t even know what The Empress — the story of Empress Elisabeth and Emperor Fran — even is. I’ve never heard of it, but Netflix has renewed it for a third and final season.

We’ve already covered the season three renewal of Lord of the Rings on Amazon. Half a dozen people on staff thought they were the only ones still watching.

Meanwhile, Netflix has renewed XO, Kitty for a third season, much to the delight of my daughters, though they’re fuming that they’ll have to wait another year (or more) for new episodes.

It’s neither a renewal nor a cancellation, but Hulu has opted not to move forward with its adaptation of the incredibly popular A Court of Thorns and Roses series. Those novels seem to dominate Goodreads’ most-read lists, so they must have run into real issues getting it off the ground—otherwise, it seems like a surefire hit. I believe they’re going to shop it around.

For what it’s worth, Blue Bloods — the CBS series starring Tom Selleck that’s been on for the entire lifespan of most teenagers — is getting a Donnie Wahlberg spin-off set in Boston. It’ll be called Boston Blue. Some older folks are really happy about that. Tom Selleck — who lobbied hard against Blue Bloods getting axed — may not be among them.

Finally, Max has canceled Bookie after two seasons. The Chuck Lorre series about a couple of bookies got fairly atrocious reviews, but inexplicably, I watched both seasons. I have no idea why, but I feel nothing about its cancellation.