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.
come on man plz bring back chris i 5 when it came out and it was my fav show
if u added a new seasonmaybe u would get more viewers
Everybody hates chris is the best show!!! and the ending had us all on the edge of our seats… so we as the fans DESERVE a SEASON 5!!!!
i live in bosnia and even i watch EHC… we need the SE05… plaese
BRING DA FRICKING SHOW BACK OVER 500 BILLOIN PEOPLE LOVE EVERYBOBY HATES CHRIS EVEN PEOPL IN DIFFERENT CONTRIES.
i think everybody hates chris is the best show!!!!
I say bring it back! this is one of the funniest shows on TV. If theres nothing on, I’ll find EHC and die laughing! Bring the show back please!!!!!!
Come on now the 33.Every day i watch this show at 3:00pm its a great show its hilarious i saw the last episode and it was sad WE NEED A SEQUEAL so please talk to the broadcasting leaderboards and bring this awesome ass show back
WE NEED ONE MORE SEASON!!!
Sorry guys but Chris fails the G.E.D Test.
at the end of every episode something bad happens to Chris.
And this episode nothing bad happen im guessing that he failed his G.E.D test because something bad always has to happen to him
Please bring back EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS, plz plz plz
bring back EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS!!! thatz like the coolest show ever make like five more seasons!!! ITS FUNNY! come on mr. supervisor have some heart!! PLZ!!! 🙂
Are you guys serious! Plz Plz dont leave me hanging like that. Just on more season and it dont have to be that long. We have to know what happened although we already know..(Chris Rocks has his GED) but, what about that strange looking guy staring at Chris in the diner? Whats up? C mon now, don’t do this to us. We are the ones that kept the show alive, and running. PLEASE!! I love you..
Yea he has it now but actually he failed it the first couple of times he took it. i dnt get that strange guy that kept looking at him. bet is bringing back the game i dnt see y they wouldnt pick up everybody hates chris. cw has lost their minds they lost ratings because they moved the show to friday night no one is goin to stay in on a friday just to watch a show. especially the age demographic they were reaching out to at the time. Now they hve all these God awful shows on the CW.… Read more »
cmon seriously?! SEASON5!!!! WE NEED IT!!! At least one more season!!!
I was more than a little disappointed in the ending to season 4. I hated it when they did that to us on the Sopranos, and I didn’t like it here. The owe us a season 5! This is too good a show to end that way.