Tonight marks the fourth season finale of Everybody Hates Chris. What are the chances that the CW sitcom will return for year five?
Everybody Hates Chris is inspired by the teenage experiences of Chris Rock and narrated by the comedian. The sitcom follows Chris (Tyler James Williams), an average kid who’s surrounded by a bunch of crazy characters who, from his point of view, don’t seem to like him very much. Others in the cast include Vincent Martella, Terry Crews, Tequan Richmond, Tichina Arnold, Imani Hakim, Jacqueline Mazarella, Travis T. Flory, Kevontay Jackson, Ernest Thomas, Jeris Poindexter, Jackee Harry, Michael Estime, Antonio Fargas, Blake Hightower, and Todd Bridges.
The sitcom began on the old UPN network in September 2005. In year one, the sitcom averaged 4.3 million viewers and a 1.7/5 rating/share of the coveted 18-49 demographic. While that may not sound like much, it was one of the network’s most successful shows, just a few steps below America’s Next Top Model.
In Chris’ sophomore year, its first on the CW network, viewership dropped to 2.7 million and a 1.1/3 in the demo. That was a significant hit, placing it just about soon-to-be cancelled Veronica Mars.
During the 2008 – 2009 season, when the industry was brought to a standstill by the writers strike, Chris was one of the few shows that completed its entire 22 episode season in advance. Despite being one of the few shows to produce a full 22 episode season, the ratings were worse. Viewership dropped to an average of 2.33 million and just a .8 rating.
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When the show was renewed last season, CW President Dawn Ostroff, said that Chris had “consistently proven itself to be one of the best comedies on television… This is a show we want viewers to associate with the CW.”
That was a nice sentiment but the network sent the sitcom to a little-watched Friday night timeslot. To no surprise, viewership dropped even lower, to an average of 1.69 million viewers and a 0.6/2 rating/share.
So, viewership has dropped significantly in the past couple years and the network is now targeting its programming almost exclusively towards young women. The CW is essentially giving up on sitcoms and will have only 10 hours of primetime to fill next season. Unlike fellow “on the bubble” sitcom The Game, Chris already has 88 episodes which is just enough for syndication.
Rock decided to make it even easier for the programming execs by making the season finale a fitting end to the series. In the episode, Chris is faced with repeating the 10th grade so he decides to drop out and take the G.E.D. test instead. Williams says, “An envelope arrives (with his test results), but before we find out the results, we fade to black. If it ends here, we ended it the right way.”
Will Chris be back next season? It looks very doubtful but we’ll know for sure on May 21st when the network holds its advertiser upfront presentation.
What do you think? Should the sitcom come back or is it time to go?
Image courtesy CW.
i am a Nigeiran, and i have not missed one single episode of the show, it will be outrightly unfair if after so strong a followership i and my family are left without knowing whats gonna happen.
Listen to me chris Rock!.. you better bring back the show or i’m gonna kill myself by jumping off the bridge. i’m serious. Guess there’ll be no Julius to save me this time.
Please bring the show back , please .
Please bring it back.
We need seaseon 5 we want to know what happens it is killing me, who was the man at the counter, why did they show julius truck number 735, did he pass what happened. If the show ended there that would leave the viewers lost. We like this showostly because it is.so.funny and the original cast has been there the entire time. Please bring back the show! @shel_deeno
I know this is an old post but this past summer was the first time I saw “Everybody Hates Chris”. My family and I LOVES IT!. We watched all four seasons and at the final episode, I’m dying for a season five!
If TV ratings are too low, why not go straight to video with season 5? I’d pay BIG TIME to see another season or at least up to Chris getting his first HBO performance.
Seriously, there is no iota of skeptics that everybody hates chris is a nice TV show and i really love it likewise every other fan. So i think it has to be brought back.
we need to bring chris back. when will it eveer return. its the best show ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if it was me i would keep this going for ever. will it come back. is this the fate for chris =(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bring back everybody hates chris! Bring it back now! Its my favorite show, i just whatched the finale episode on tv and i was wondering what happened… was the guy about to shoot up the building? did chris pass? If your not going to bring it back atleast message me saying what happened, please!!!!!!!!!! I need to know, as far as I know this is one of the best shows ever, the only reason people stoped whatching the show is because they moved it from its origanale time. I whatch chris every night on nick at night, and i watch… Read more »
we want chris we want we want chris we want chris we want chris back
i hope its about in 1990s
sera que fai ter tomara ne é muito legal o chris
that show was funny
ummm. i just watched the last episode of it not knowing it was the last episode and i was dying so much to find out what happenes next cause i love the show so i go on the internet to watch the next episode and i see this!!! i am flipping out right now, bring back the show,please dont cancell it chris rock…….please
OMG, same here!!!! I did the EXCACT same thing.. watched it then i went on here to watch the episoide after that.. and this happens…. :/
coming with seoson five when chris and greg are adults and seoson 5 is the final one airing 9-12-12