“Partners” Breaks Up ~ CBS Nixes Comedy

FORUM It sort of was written in the stars before the show even started. Many were skeptical with Partners trying to become Will & Grace part 2 – with two lead males. If you haven’t caught it while it was on air, Partners is based on the life of its creators, the same people who brought us Will & Grace years ago. – a straight, married man and his gay best friend. While the CBS sitcom starts off with Joe (David Krumholtz) considering ending his relationship with long-time girlfriend Ali (Sophia Bush), Louis (Michael Urie) steps in and tries to fix the broken relationship. In true sitcom fashion, Louis might do more damage than good before Joe patches things up with Ali.

The show focused on the relationship between Joe and Louis but seemed to focus too strongly on gay male stereotypes and not enough on the actual friendship. What many believed felt like Will & Jack, it seemed like the two best friends (and now business partners) weren’t delivering the comedy CBS hoped for. Up against powerhouse The Voice, Partners debuted to only 6.5 million viewers and 2.4 demo rating, maintaining only 75% of it’s HIMYM lead-in, which consequently affected 2 Broke Girls and Mike & Molly. In it’s second week, with The Voice growing stronger and DWTS stumbling, Partners slipped in total viewers (5.7 million) and dipped 11% in the demo to a 2.1. While some statistical manipulations of these numbers actually fare better than any NBC Thursday comedy, for the CBS standard, it just might be too low. With ratings continuing to decline and finally hitting a series low this past week, CBS announced today that they will pull Partners from the air effective immediately. CBS will fill the 8:30ET time-slot with comedy repeats, beginning with Two and a Half Men starting November 19.

The Mob Doctor, over on Fox, is expected to also be cancelled, however, Fox seems to be sticking with this show for ad revenue before they put a hit out on it likely by midseason. More on those numbers in that eulogy.

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