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TV cancellations are a fact of life. But that doesn’t make it any less painful when your favorite show gets the axe. So far this year, viewers have had to say goodbye to The Conners, 9-1-1: Lone Star, You, and Bosch: Legacy. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. CBS will bid farewell to several shows, including The Equalizer and FBI: Most Wanted. The cancellations have left many viewers disappointed and wondering what’s driving such decisions.
CBS cancels ‘The Equalizer,’ ‘S.W.A.T.,’ and two ‘FBI’ spinoffs
First, the good news. Many of the CBS shows viewers love are set to return in the 2025-26 broadcast season. The network’s lineup includes Fire Country Season 4, FBI Season 8, Elsbeth Season 3, Tracker Season 3, NCIS Season 23, and NCIS: Sydney Season 3. New shows Matlock, Watson, NCIS: Origins, and Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage will also return, as will comedies Ghosts and The Neighborhood and long-running reality series Survivor and The Amazing Race. Plus, several new shows are in the works, including a Blue Bloods spinoff titled Boston Blue, FBI spinoff FBI: CIA, and Fire Country spinoff Sheriff Country.
But that jam-packed schedule leaves no room for some familiar favorites. So far in 2025, CBS has canceled Queen Latifah’s The Equalizer; two FBI spinoffs FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International; and S.W.A.T. New comedy Poppa’s House also won’t return for a second season, nor will reality series The Summit.
Outraged fans beg CBS to save their favorite shows
CBS’s spate of cancellations has not gone over well with many viewers, who’ve expressed their disappointment on social media.
When The Equalizer was canceled just days before the May 4 season 5 finale, viewers were stunned.
“Y’all couldn’t give us just one more season to actually [wrap] up the series!? cbs i will never forgive you!” one person commented on Instagram.
“Breaks my heart,” several fans wrote, while others declared that CBS was making a “huge mistake.”
The sentiment was similar among fans of the FBI spinoffs and S.W.A.T. The latter was canceled for a third time in March 2025; CBS twice reversed earlier decisions to end the show, in May 2023 and in April 2024. Loyal viewers hoped they might again be able to save the show.
“We’re not done fighting for this awesome show that we love so much,” one declared on Instagram. Series star Shemar Moore has shown support for that campaign.
“We came back from the dead TWICE!!!! Three times would make history!!!” he wrote in a March 9 Instagram post.
Why did CBS decline to renew some its seemingly popular shows? The reasons can be complex. In the case of The Equalizer, the show had seen a noticeable dip in viewers after it moved to a later timeslot this season, The Hollywood Reporter pointed out. Long-running shows can also be expensive to produce. Blue Bloods, which concluded its run in December 2024, only returned for a 14th season when the cast and producers agreed to significant pay cuts, Deadline reported.
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