The Verdict is In: Future of the ‘The Neighborhood’ Revealed!

From left: Max Greenfield, Tichina Arnold, Cedric The Entertainer and Beth Behrs in ‘The Neighborhood’ Sonja Flemming/CBS

A reliable Monday anchor, the series, starring and executive produced by Cedric the Entertainer, unexpectedly found itself on the bubble this year, not making the list of early CBS renewals last month. It is the first of the shows that were left off to get a renewal following the recent cancellations of FBI: Most Wanted, FBI: International and S.W.A.T. They all come from outside studios while The Neighborhood is produced by CBS sibling CBS Studios.

For The Neighborhood, the uncertainty over its future stemmed from its cost. As a series in its seventh season with a big-name cast, The Neighborhood is expensive. Deals with the actors for Season 8 have been made, paving the way for one final renewal.

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“The brilliant cast and creative team at The Neighborhood led by the incomparable Cedric the Entertainer have brought levity, laughter and poignant storylines to Monday nights for seven incredible seasons,” said Amy Reisenbach, President CBS Entertainment. “A strong ratings performer for CBS and one of the top comedies on TV, we believe the show’s loyal fans deserve a proper farewell season full of the trademark humor and heartfelt moments that are synonymous with the series.”

This season, The Neighborhood is averaging 6.4 million viewers in 35-day multi-platform viewing.

The series’ upcoming Season 7 finale, which already has been shot, serves a backdoor pilot for a proposed spinoff, setting up Marty and Malcolm’s move to Venice. However, it does not provide closure for the other characters, something they will now get with the Season 8 renewal.

It is unclear yet whether the spinoff will be picked up by CBS. The Neighborhood and the offshoot, whose premises are somewhat of a mirror image, have been designed to run alongside each other, so the mothership series could help launch its successor next season.

The Neighborhood already spawned one spinoff, the upcoming Paramount+ comedy series Crutch starring Tracy Morgan.

With The Neighborhood picked up, remaining on the bubble at CBS are freshman multi-cam sitcom Poppa’s House as well as drama veteran Equalizer. (New drama Watson is a midseason entry; it looks good so far to come back.)

The Neighborhood is living proof that pilots, especially on the comedy side, are useful proofs of concept. The sitcom’s original pilot was scrapped, two of the leads were recast with Max Greenfield and Beth Behrs, and a new pilot was shot by the same director, sitcom veteran James Burrows.

The series, which also stars Tichina Arnold, Sheaun McKinney, Marcel Spears, Hank Greenspan and recent cast addition Skye Townsend, went through multiple showrunners throughout its run, with series creator Jim Reynolds exiting after the first three seasons.

In its current incarnation, The Neighborhood, which is available to stream on Paramount+, is executive produced by showrunners Bill Martin and Mike Schiff, Aaron Kaplan, Wendi Trilling, Cedric the Entertainer and Eric Rhone. CBS Studios is the studio.