Why So Help Me Todd likely won't be saved (despite us wanting more)

Are we happy about So Help Me Todd being canceled? Definitely not. This was a fun and lighthearted drama to add to our weekly viewing list. However, as much as I would love to see the show get another season, it’s not one that I see being saved.

I’m simply a realist. When I look at shows that I think could end up getting a new lease on life, I take a look at viewership, the length of time it’s been canceled, and whether the series itself is even fighting to be saved.

Let’s take a look at why So Help Me Todd likely isn’t going to be saved.

The viewership wasn’t the best in the linear and streaming ratings

Let’s be honest about So Help Me Todd’s viewership. This wasn’t a series that gained a lot of live viewers. That isn’t always a problem with streaming sites now, but the show wasn’t gaining that much traction in the delayed views, either.

This was a sleeper hit. It had a consistent base, but not one that could justify the costs of putting the show together. It’s hard to tell what the international viewership was like, but I don’t think that was strong enough to encourage an international streamer to pick it up.

There isn’t much of a fight to save So Help Me Todd

When you look at the shows that have been saved in the past, there was a huge fight to get them back on the air. Just look at how quickly CBS U-turned on SWAT’s cancellation last year when Shemar Moore led the charge to save it. Look at how loud everyone involved in Manifest, Lucifer, and The Expanse have been in the past.

Things are on the quiet side with So Help Me Todd. If there isn’t the fight, then the networks and streamers don’t really think that it is worth being saved. This isn’t about the fans, by the way. Fans are coming out in full force, but it doesn’t sound like the series is being shopped around.

Other networks have been burned in the past

So Help Me Todd may have had low ratings for CBS, but the ratings weren’t terrible for broadcast as a whole. In fact, the show performed better than a lot of Fox and NBC shows. However, that doesn’t mean the other broadcast networks will step in to save it.

NBC tried that with Magnum PI. The series performed better on CBS than other NBC dramas, and NBC hoped to bring those viewers in. The problem was its scheduling decisions, which led to a poor viewership when the series did come back. NBC and other networks may not want to risk something like this again.

I would love to see the cast and crew of So Help Me Todd stay in their jobs. I just don’t see it happening.