The Odd Couple: Cancel or Keep the CBS Sitcom?

Starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, the original Odd Couple TV show ran for five seasons on ABC. A later version called The New Odd Couple was cancelled after 18 episodes. How’s this new version doing? Will it see a second season?

On CBS’ version of The Odd Couple, endearing slob Oscar Madison (Matthew Perry) is a sports-writer and uptight neat freak Felix Unger (Thomas Lennon) is a photographer. They’re two former college buddies who become unlikely roommates after the demise of their marriages. Other castmembers are Lindsay Sloane, Wendell Pierce, and Yvette Nicole Brown.

Airing on the night of the Two and a Half Men series finale, the newest Odd Couple debuted to a very healthy 3.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 13.57 million viewers. In week two, the numbers fell by 10% in the demo and 18% in viewership. In week three, the ratings grew a bit.

The fourth installment hit a new low with a 2.5 in the demo and 10.24 million. Last week’s took a big dip, hitting another new low with a 1.9 demo rating and 8.7 million. It’s worth noting that all of the CBS shows were way down last week.

While it seems that Odd Couple’s ratings haven’t quite settled in yet, it appears that the sitcom is a safe bet for renewal. If the numbers continue to go way down, it could be headed for cancellation but that doesn’t seem likely.

In short, CBS still needs new sitcoms. The McCarthys will surely be cancelled and they dropped The Millers midway through its second season. They’ve already renewed four comedies for next season so that leaves them with two half-hour timeslots open for 2015-16 (and that’s presuming they don’t want to add more sitcoms back into the schedule).

While Odd Couple’s ratings retention from its Big Bang Theory lead-in could be a lot better, the new series is currently the network’s second-highest rated show in the demo. It doesn’t hurt that it has a couple name actors in the cast which helps sell the series to new viewers (can a mini-Friends reunion be far behind?). Renewal looks like a safe bet.

But, what do you think? Do you like The Odd Couple on CBS? Would you like to see it cancelled or renewed for a second season? Would you make any changes?