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Renewals and Cancellations: 'High Potential,' 'St. Denis Medical,' and 'Murder In A Small Town'

By Dustin Rowles | TV | January 22, 2025 |

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Header Image Source: ABC

My favorite new comedy this year is St. Denis Medical, the Allison Tolman comedy set inside a hospital from Superstore’s Justin Spitzer. It’s distinct from a medical comedy like Scrubs in that St. Denis Medical isn’t really about the cases — it’s a workplace comedy that happens to be set in a hospital. It also stars Wendi McLendon-Covey in a Michael Scott-like role and David Alan Grier. It’s fantastic. Six episodes into the season, my wife watched the pilot and ended up binging the rest in one night. My son walked in during the final episode, got hooked, and went back to watch the rest. Then, one of my daughters walked in on the three of us watching the seventh episode, got hooked, and did the same. We’re planning to hook the other child tonight.

It’s been renewed for a second season. This thing is going to run for five or six years, at least. It has a great cast, is funny, and is still improving. Along with Abbott Elementary, it’s the best comedy on broadcast networks right now. Speaking of which, ABC has renewed Abbott for its fifth season. That show is going to fuel Hulu with reruns for decades.

Elsewhere, Fox has given a second-season order to Murder In A Small Town, a cozy mystery based on the Karl Allberg novel series. Rossif Sutherland and Kristin Kreuk star. It’s a Canadian co-production. I watched it. It’s cozy and not entirely bad, if that’s your thing (I much prefer grisly mysteries over cozy ones). I would add that, for a small quaint town in Canada, there sure are a lot of murders.

Speaking of murder, High Potential has been renewed for a second season, and deservedly so. It’s part of the trend in fun, female-led detective mysteries, along with Matlock and Elsbeth. The Kaitlin Olson series, however, is easily my favorite. Matlock, I check in on only periodically, and Elsbeth has fallen hard into its formula, though the Michael Emerson arc has given it some new life.

Elsewhere, Netflix has renewed The Lincoln Lawyer for another season. It’s a really well-made legal thriller based on Michael Connelly’s well-written novels. I’m a big fan. The fourth season will adapt Connelly’s The Law of Innocence, which was teased at the end of season three.

There were also a couple of cancellations this week. Paramount+ has axed Frasier after two seasons, which I never thought I’d find disappointing, but here we are. I thought the reboot was fun — it’s so rare to see farce in sitcoms these days. Plus, old cast members frequently dropped by, and there was even talk of Ted Danson making an appearance in season three. They’re shopping it around, and I’m hopeful it lands back on NBC. This show should have been on a network from the start instead of the Taylor Sheridan streamer.

Finally, Peacock has canceled Teacup, which comes as little surprise. I watched it because I like the cast (Scott Speedman, Yvonne Strahovski) and because it was short (six half-hour episodes, if I recall). There wasn’t much to it, it had no buzz, and I doubt anyone outside the cast and crew will mourn its cancellation.