Here are the facts:
At the time of this writing 2 Broke Girls has not yet been renewed for its 7th Season.
Here are the numbers:
This past Wednesday the finale for Season 6 of 2 Broke Girls aired with a viewership of roughly 4.57 million. This is 70 thousand less than the preceding week, and bookends the steady, gradual decline that began back in February. It’s the smallest audience the sitcom has had, not only in what has been a poor season ratings-wise, but since it first began airing.
In other words, 2 Broke Girls is not doing well.
There’s no other way of putting it. Being critically panned doesn’t matter at all if people are watching, but all indicators point to this not being the case. Now granted, the numbers presented are via The Nielsen Company, and don’t account for any viewers who may choose to stream the show online, but they provide a fairly compelling picture all things considering.
Here’s what the creators have said:
Now pretty much every site out there covering this has quoted this one TVLine article, but given that Michelle Nader is the co-showrunner it’s about as close to the horse’s mouth as you can get. She made the statement that:
“This is not the end for these girls. We’re not finished and we don’t want to be finished and I don’t think the audience is finished. Obviously there’s no guarantee that we will be back, but we did not write the episode as a series finale.”
Nader goes on to point out the creative opportunities that have presented themselves given that both Max and Caroline have found love, going so far as to liken future 2 Broke Girls seasons as “just beginning in a way”.
In conclusion, the executive producer expressed being “hopeful” that the show will be renewed. Not only is there the aforementioned new creative direction, but “CBS has been really supportive of us and so we believe that they’ll want to see more of these girls.”
Here’s what the people are saying:
- In that same article, TVLine claims that “oddsmakers say the series has an even-money chance of returning next fall.” Elsewhere on TVLine, but also by Michael Ausiello, is an article titled “2017 Renewal Scorecard: What’s Coming Back? What’s Getting Cancelled? What’s on the Bubble?” 2 Broke Girls was listed as “A safe bet”, but that has since been crossed out and replaced with “Could go either way”.
- The aptly titled TV Series Finale website very accurately notes that 2 Broke Girls has not yet been cancelled or renewed. It’s mentioned that numbers aren’t expected to be what they once were in this day and age and that, “Unless there’s some business reason, I suspect 2 Broke Girls will be on the air for awhile.”
- Entertainment Weekly has a little something called “Deathwatch 2017”, which lists 53 shots that haven’t been renewed, from “safest to dead-est”. 2 Broke Girls clocks in at #43, which isn’t too bad at all. In spite of ongoing negotiations writer James Hibberd goes on to say that: “CBS is downright savage when it comes to axing its weakest shows in May, but we expect they’ll work this one out.”
- Deadline shines a little bit more light on what those negotiations entail. “2 Broke Girls holds the record for the biggest off-network comedy series sale, earning Warner Bros. TV $1.7 million an episode from TBS alone. I hear CBS may be trying to tap into the studio’s lucrative backend, making negotiations even tougher. There is too much money at stake not to make a deal in the end, but it will be tough.”
To sum things up, for the most part the general consensus appears to be that 2 Broke Girls is likely to be renewed, primarily because it’s bringing in money due to having been syndicated. Right now what remains to be seen is whether the higher ups can come to an agreement that everyone feels they benefit from.
Where’s what I’m saying:
Honestly, I would prefer if 2 Broke Girls wasn’t renewed.
This may seem plainly obvious given my general attitude in a number of reviews I’ve written in the past. It hasn’t always been easy staying up late on Mondays to pen them, or early the following morning. That said, I also acknowledge that reviewing 2 Broke Girls has generally made me a much more talented writer, and positively affected the way I consume media, primarily television.
The thing is, this also seems like the ideal jumping off point. I generally agree with Nader that this isn’t a perfect end point for a sitcom, but at the same time it isn’t a bad one. In many ways it’s fitting that Max agree to marry Randy, as it completes her character arc of finding and trusting a friend to finding and trusting a husband. Their returning to the diner appears to be a renewal of the status quo, but not in a necessarily negative way.
As much as Nader is touting a brand new creative direction, it’s also worth noting that 2 Broke Girls appears to have outlasted its premise ages ago. The girls claim to be poor, but they own a Dessert Bar which appears to be getting decent business. I can’t think of a context moving forward in which the title would be warranted, especially with Max being proposed to by an incredibly wealthy lawyer.
If 2 Broke Girls does in fact come back for Season 7 the question remains whether or not I’ll still watch and review the show. Given a significant creative shakeup it’s certainly possible, but I also feel comfortable surmising that this may be the end of my relationship with the show. That being said, any sort of commentary from audience in support my reviews will strongly sway my continuing on.
To summarize, we simply don’t know. Most places are optimistic about the shows’s chances, but there’s always the off-chance that negotiations fall through and this is all we got. Either way, 2 Broke Girls had a good run. There was a lot to complain about, to be sure, but wrapping things up with Season 6 ain’t bad.
