Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | News | April 4, 2025
I thought that Dexter: Original Sin had an OK, if overly familiar, pilot, but by the end of the prequel series, I had to force myself to finish it. It was bad. They squandered Sarah Michelle Gellar, and the ending was dumb. Naturally, Paramount+/Showtime is renewing it, because the sequel series — Dexter: Resurrection — is insufficient. What else does the prequel series even have left to explore?
The broadcast networks are making a lot of cancellation and renewal decisions this week. ABC gave re-ups to The Rookie (season 8), Will Trent (season 4), and 9-1-1 (season 9), none of which were surprising, although a couple of them are getting very long in the tooth (9-1-1 is something of a chore to watch, and Grey’s Anatomy is straight-up bad, especially compared to the far superior medical drama The Pitt).
There was some suspense around whether Tim Allen and Kat Dennings’ Shifting Gears would get picked up for a second season. It had a huge start, but ratings eroded precipitously as the season progressed — probably because MAGA viewers realized it wasn’t particularly MAGA (Allen’s Home Improvement ’90s Republican schtick is often offset by Dennings’ ’90s liberal schtick). It’s not a good show at all, but it’s also not quite as bad as it looks (and Jenna Elfman, Seann William Scott, and Daryl Mitchell give it even more of that ’90s/aughts vibe). In any respect, it had enough left in the tank to leg out a second season.
No decision about Doctor Odyssey has been made, which also got off to a massive start for ABC. However, the series hasn’t been the same since it returned from the long midseason break (and that threesome). It really didn’t have anywhere left to go after that. Ryan Murphy runs out of gas midseason yet again! There’s a lot of great TV right now, and only so many hours in the day; Odyssey became a casualty of my viewing routine last week.
Elsewhere, Fox made a huge commitment to its animation block, renewing Family Guy, The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, and American Dad not just for next season, but for the next four seasons. That takes The Simpsons to its 40th season.
Watson, meanwhile, has been picked up for another season by CBS. It’s not a very good show, but both Tori and I continue to watch because Randall Park periodically shows up as Moriarty, and the voice of Sherlock Holmes is that of Matt Berry. Honestly, they’re not really worth it for what is essentially a mostly basic CBS procedural.
Common Side Effects also got an additional season—its second—for HBO. I don’t like animation, but I’ve watched some of this one, mostly because my kid has been insistent: it’s a critique of the pharmaceutical industry, and Mike Judge is involved (as a voice and a producer) with the series from Joseph Bennett (Scavengers Reign) and Steve Hely (30 Rock, The Office).
