• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, Today

Reba’s staying in place and Poppa’s leaving the house as the TV Blog assesses its checkered record of recent raves and pans.

As next week’s Upfronts draw near, the news of which shows will return next season and which ones will not has been trickling out in the trade press for a number of weeks.

As usual, what the TV Blog wrote about some of them had no bearing on their cancellations or renewals.

For example, Reba McEntire’s NBC sitcom “Happy’s Place” received one of the most negative reviews of the year in 2024. 

“Despite the uproarious laughter heard as background noise every time Reba opens her mouth, there was little to laugh at in the premiere of ‘Happy’s Place’,” wrote the TV Blog last September. “The ‘comedy’ consists of little more than Reba making faces and yelling at everybody.”

Reba and her funny faces will be back next season, as the show has been renewed for a second season, according to the trades.

By contrast, CBS’ “Poppa’s House” is reportedly canceled after a single season. This was a family sitcom starring Damon Wayans as a curmudgeonly New York radio personality and his son played by Damon Wayans Jr.

In a review published the same week as “Happy’s Place,” I compared the shows to each other and came out in favor of “Poppa’s House.”

“ ‘Poppa’s House’ is a happier place to visit than ‘Happy’s Place,’ if only because two Wayanses are funnier than one Reba McEntire,” I wrote then. 

But the opposite happened: Viewers enjoyed visiting Reba more than the Wayanses.  Viewers, like people everywhere, are so unpredictable.

The TV Blog got it right when it came to the late-night show that replaced James Corden at 12:35 a.m. weeknights on CBS.

After two seasons, the show -- “After Midnight” -- is packing it in. The show’s mission was “to make the internet fun again.”

Styled as a game show, comedian and co-host Taylor Tomlinson yukked it up with other comedians who competed to utter the funniest quip after watching a viral video. 

“At no point did the show fulfill its stated mission of making the internet fun again. Nor was the show much fun either,” I wrote in January 2024. 

For the record, I get no joy from the cancellation of TV shows, just writing about them. 

An interesting footnote about the cancellation of “After Midnight” is the news that CBS has not yet decided how it will replace the show in the time period, or whether it will cede control of the time slot to its affiliates.

CBS cancelled at least two other shows too -- “FBI: International” and “FBI: Most Wanted.” The former ran for six seasons, and the latter for four. 

And last but definitely not least, “The Equalizer” starring Queen Latifah will not be back either.

Without McCall, who you gonna call?