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.
The CW has cancelled all o it’s good shows. I don’t think it was the shows, but rather the Network. Maybe “Everybody Hates the CW.”
It seems like everytime that there is a sitcom featuring african-americans the television industry does’nt support these shows regardless of its’ fan-base, all they care about is ratings. They NEVER give these shows time to develop a following. Some of our most successful sitcoms did’nt always start with the best of rating, but they were allowed to find an audience. We need a network that caters to all demographics, and I am sick and tired of being ignored. We need racial balance in televison and it is sad that in 2009, we have a african american president in the white… Read more »
Why????? !!!! Chris should come back !!!! This is one of the greatest family show ever !!!! I’m French and I love that show, I don’t understand why people prefers watching crap !!
Everybody hates Chris really needs to come back. If I would had known about this show, I would had watched it, I just found out thanks to Nickelodeon. The CW is new around here and to a lot of places, if this was on ABC or NBC I know it would had been very high in its ratings. TBS is where people would had watched it on too. CW in a lot of places is not popular no one really watches it, because it is new. Try airing on channels people would normally watch, I think it was a amazing… Read more »
Chris! I miss you! Come back come back come back on air!! I watched every single episode from S1 to S4! they all rock! 🙂 Cmon dont be such a p****! put it back up! 🙂
Maybe The Network people started to hate Chris too, so they decided to cancel the show!!!
c’mon we need this series back on air…everyone loves this family series. Everybody Hates Chris has to return, it’s one of the best comedy show ever…
Come on Guys!…Bring it back!!
the white guy was most likely his agent to comedy in the future or something
support ++
Not to ruin it for anyone but chris did pass is G.E.D. Well atleast he was suppose to because the comedian Chris Rock whos youth “chris” the character is based on dropped out of highschool and got his G.E.D. That is why the season and the series ended there, in a way it was the end of his childhood and the beginning of his adulthood. The only thing that doesent make sense is that Chris Rock was born in 1965 in brooklyn which means by 1987 he should be 22 but his supposedly 15, I just wonder why the date… Read more »
They need to show season 5 because it’s will complete the 4th season and I really like Everybody Hates Chris I’m a big fan of the show.
Please don’t cancel Everybody Hates Chris it’s one of the best TV shows I ever saw.
ONE OF THE BEST SHOW OF ALL TIME. IT IS A FAMILY RITUAL TO WATCH CHRIS. I’M COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS UNTIL SEASON 4 IS RELEASED ON DVD. COME ON, WHO NEEDS REALITY TV AND STUPID SHOW LIKE, “WHAT NOT TO WEAR”. COMEDY SHOULDN’T BE A DYING BREED. AFTER A LONG DAY OF WORK YOU JUST WANT TO SIT DOWN AND WATCH SOMETHING FUNNY. LONG LIVE CHRIS.
Come on Guys!…Bring it back!! This is my FAVOURITE of all tv shows!! I’d kill for a season 5! i’ve nearly watched all the last four seasons and i’m already wanting to watch the next one lol!
BRING BACK CHRIS!!
What.are you kidding.why would they want to cancel one of the funniest films of all.i kneed season 5
Yeah men, This is the best show ever if they put this show on regular tv times when everybody is watching believe me the whole world would watch Everybody hates chris