It was good news-bad news day for CBS drama viewers yesterday. Fans of S.W.A.T. rejoiced when the network reversed its cancellation decision and renewed the veteran procedural for a 13-episode seventh and final season.
But that tipped the scale for another CBS cop drama, freshman East New York, which was canceled shortly after. And in a case of bad timing, by being axed during a writers strike, East New York is far less likely to get a reprieve.
While not as established as S.W.A.T., East New York, starring Amanda Warren, has developed a loyal following, and its cancellation has sparked a backlash, especially in light of the fact that the cop show drew bigger linear numbers than two other CBS drama series that have been renewed for next season, fellow freshman So Help Me Todd and CSI: Vegas, both of which come from CBS’ sister studios CBS Studios.
East New York, on the other hand, hails from Warner Bros. Television. As Deadline has chronicled in detail, the cancellation followed lengthy, difficult renewal negotiations between the network the studio, which spanned a number of issues, including CBS looking to create a precedent by requesting additional streaming rights. (CBS and WBTV actually came close to an agreement before S.W.A.T.’s resurrection.) Because of how touch-and-go the negotiations were, I hear Warner Bros.
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