Chad, the critically acclaimed coming-of-age comedy, was canceled just hours before its second season airs.
The show starred former Saturday Night Live assistant Nasim Pedrad as the title character, an American Persian boy struggling with the pressures and cruel everyday life of high school, while coming to terms with his cultural identity and his wife’s rich love life. mother.
Chad first aired in April 2021 and had good reviews in its first season, with a 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (opens in new tab). Additionally, it ranked as the number one scripted new cable comedy series of 2021.
Which makes recent events even stranger.
Chad’s second season has now concluded and was set to premiere on July 11 on TBS (Turner Broadcasting Network), however, hours before that, TBS parent company Warner Bros. .
In a statement to Deadline (opens in new tab)A TBS spokesperson said, “As we continue to evaluate content and implement a new strategy for our network, we are now able to share Season 2 of Chad does not air on TBS. We are proactively exploring various options to find the right home for this.”
They continued, “We celebrate and thank Nasim Pedrad, the series’ passionate creator, executive producer and star, for sharing a bold and unexpected coming-of-age story with heart and humor. We also thank executive producer Oly Obst, co-showrunner Max Searle. and the entire cast and crew of Chad for their continued partnership and wish them all continued success.”
Pedrad issued his own statement, adding: I recognize that the landscape of our industry is changing so rapidly. Did I expect my program to be caught in the crosshairs of a corporate restructuring and merger? Not. I spent the last year doing a season of television that I’m very proud of. From the writers’ room to production and editing, a team of very talented and dedicated people came together to tell a story we believe in.”
She continued, “A heavyweight comedy that portrays Middle Eastern characters from a place of empathy and humanity. I feel so lucky that Chad has an incredibly loyal fanbase. I know they’re going to love this season and I’m excited for the show. to find a new home.”
What happened here?
As Pedrad said in his own statement, the show was an unfortunate victim of the new broom sweeping it as part of the Warner Bros. merger. Discovery.
Last month, TNT, sister to TBS, saw its latest original programming, Snowpiercer, canceled after four seasons, as American TV restarts Australian crime drama Animal Kingdom, which is currently in its sixth and final season. The channel will now focus exclusively on repeats, largely of current and past police procedures on the network, such as Bones and Cold Case.
TBS is heading in the same direction. Its only original offerings now are the Daniel Radcliffe comedy Miracle Workers, which is heading for a fourth season, and the animated series American Dad and Close Enough.
The term states that any network or streaming service that chooses Chad, if they do, will also have the rights to his first season.
Analysis: It’s a bloodbath at Warner Bros.
We’ve spent much of this year writing about Netflix and its executives’ seemingly never-ending appetite to cancel shows, but they’ve never pulled off a feat like this.
Across its various networks and services, Warner Bros. Discovery has been on a wave of cancellations recently.
The Time Traveler’s Wife was fired after a single season in early July, and then period drama Gentleman Jack was fired. Both were from HBO, while Adult Swim’s Joe Pera Talks With You was also canned. All these shows at least managed to finish their already-awake runs in the air.
Additionally, HBO had already shut down Demimonde, JJ Abrams’ first solo television creation since his original hit Alias, which was budgeted over $200 million.
When will this end? Well, well, the new CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, was interviewed by CNBC (opens in new tab)in May, he talked a lot about increasing the company’s cash flow, which means a lot of hard-headed business decisions and less an artistic view of the company’s programming options.
So, in all likelihood, we will have a lot more cancellations.