Reba: A Last Minute Cancellation?

It just goes to show, there’s no such thing as “a sure thing” in Hollywood. While shows like Gilmore Girls and Everwood have been nervously wondering if they were going to be renewed, the cast and crew of Reba McEntire’s Reba could just relax. After all, the show is the highest rated sitcom on the WB and besides, the show was renewed for two seasons last year. No worries, right?

Not so. When the UPN/WB merger was announced earlier this year, it’s said that CBS’ leader Les Moonves sent word that the new CW network would honor the rest of the two-year commitment. With that in mind, the Reba cast and crew wrapped their shooting according to schedule on March 14, 2006.

In a surprising move a few weeks later, CW executives reportedly told Fox (who produces the show) that they wanted to cancel the deal because the show doesn’t attract their “desired demographic.” Fox supposedly rejected the request and it’s likely that if the CW still wants out, it will come at a costly price.

The season finale of Reba (episode 112 and entitled “Reba’s Heart”) aired on May 5, 2006. It was originally shot as a cliffhanger but after word of the potential cancellation was released, the episode was re-edited.

Though Reba has not been officially cancelled, it would be surprising to see it on the CW Fall schedule. Still, it is the highest-rated sitcom on the WB and the similarly rated 7th Heaven was cancelled, aired a series finale, and has now been resurrected and renewed for Fall. So, as I said, there’s no such thing as a sure thing in Hollywood. Stay tuned!