It turns out that being held for late May and then burnt off at a rate of two episodes per week wasn't a kiss of death for “Undateable.”
The multi-cam comedy has been renewed for a second season with the news breaking, as it so often seems to, via Twitter on Thursday (July 31) evening, starting with star Chris D'Elia, followed by executive producer Bill Lawrence, whose optimism for the future of “Undateable” never waned.
NBC confirmed the tweets and, indeed, “Undateable” will be back on NBC at some point in the future. The Season 2 order is for 10 episodes.
When I interviewed Lawrence and creator Adam Sztykiel in the spring, Lawrence explained that optimism, which seemed somewhat irrational at the time.
“I think NBC's gonna win the summer because they're gonna try and win the year and I think they've got a shot right now,” Lawrence explained. “And the bar is so low, man. I know that if we can get a 1.1 as a multi-cam in the summer, our show's gonna be on again, which is insane. That's just the new landscape.”
Against all odds, “Undateable” premiered on May 29 with a 1.3 rating averaged across two episodes, plus roughly 3.8 million viewers. By its July 3 finale, though, “Undateable” was down to a 0.7 in the key demo and under 2.2 million viewers.
NBC decided to take the plunge on a second season despite that drop, continuing a summer of optimism.
Already, NBC has renewed “The Night Shift,” plus reality hits “America's Got Talent” and “American Ninja Warrior,” as well as “Last Comic Standing,” which network executives admit has become something of a talent showcase, even if the ratings can't compete with “Talent” or “Ninja.”
The odds would seem to favor internationally financed Wednesday drama “Taxi Brooklyn” and perhaps Thursday comedy “Welcome to Sweden,” which has already been picked up for a second Swedish season.
Are you pleased for the “Undateable” renewal? Shocked?