This one's weird. TBS just canceled a TV show it intended to air yesterday. Not that people should be especially surprised, as the show was kicked down the road once before this cancelation happened.
The series, Chad, is a comedy series starring SNL vet Nasim Pedrad. And it's almost befitting that cancelation happened somewhat awkwardly, as the titular Chad was anything but smooth.
Originally slotted for an April 2022 return, TBS moved (according to TVLine) Chad off its spring schedule quietly. Then, it was supposed to drop on July 11. A TBS spokesperson told Deadline "As we continue to assess content and implement a new strategy for our network, we can now share that season two of Chad will not air on TBS." EW was told that TBS is "proactively exploring various options to find the right home for it."
What did people think of Chad?
Chad, a dry and awkward comedy about a Persian-American boy struggling to fit in at school, struggled to fit in with the pop culture landscape as well. Chad, while not exactly a critical darling, did score decently with critics, whose reviews total to an 81% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Robyn Bahr of The Hollywood Reporter complimented the star's efforts, noting "Pedrad’s precise and springy character work ... calibrates the exact level of petulance you need to believe this vexing protagonist without ever hating him." Richard Roeper at the Chicago Sun-Times noted that "You'll laugh - but cringe - at the crass behavior of the youth inhabited by fully grown Nasim Pedrad."
Variety's Caroline Framke wasn't as entertained, calling the show "downright exhausting." She even said "Should 'Chad' get a second season, it would be more interesting to see what he does with even an ounce more confidence, even if it doesn't make for as many obvious punchlines," as if to say its sequel season wasn't guaranteed.
Unfortunately, audiences seem to hate the series, as 223 audience score votes totaled to a 15% score on RT. User Matt M wrote "This show is the worst thing I've ever seen. The Saw movies have more comedy in them than this, they were also less torturous and less cringey. I cannot believe they got renewed for another season." Tina C wrote "Cringey, cringey and more cringey! It's just bad...period! I'm shocked that anyone would even remotely be accepting of such bile or think this was even remotely ok!!!"
Why did Chad get canceled?
If those incredibly negative user reviews weren't a big enough red flag, Chad also hit the airwaves at the wrong time.
It's clear that Chad is the latest victim of the recent Warner Bros. Discovery merger, which has the new team (led by CEO David Zaslav) looking closer at the bottom line of all the Turner networks' (and HBO Max) content. For example, last month saw TNT's biggest remaining scripted program Snowpiercer get the axe. Earlier this year, Tracy Morgan's The Last O.G. also got killed off at TBS.
One live-action TBS sitcom — Miracle Workers with Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi — remains.
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