(Photo by: Peter Kramer/CBS)
The men and women of the 74th Precinct won’t be back on the beat for the 2023-24 television season. CBS has cancelled any plans for East New York to have a second year.
A police procedural series, the East New York TV show stars Amanda Warren, Jimmy Smits, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Kevin Rankin, Richard Kind, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Olivia Luccardi, and Lavel Schley. The story revolves around the officers and detectives of the 74th Precinct in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn. It’s a working-class neighborhood amid social upheaval while the early seeds of gentrification have been planted. Deputy Inspector Regina Haywood (Warren) is the newly promoted boss of the precinct who has family ties to the area. She’s determined to deploy creative methods to protect her beloved community with the help of her officers and detectives. Her team includes Chief John Suarez (Smits); training officer Marvin Sandeford (Santiago-Hudson); Detective Tommy Killian (Rankin); Captain Stan Yenko (Kind); Detective Crystal Morales (Rodriguez); trainee Andre Bentley (Schley); and patrol officer Brandy Quinlan (Luccardi). Regina Haywood has a vision. She and the squad of the 74th Precinct will not only serve their community – they’ll also become part of it.
The first season of East New York averages a 0.38 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 5.01 million viewers in the live+same day ratings (including DVR playback through 3:00 AM). In the live+7 day ratings, the series picks up nearly 40% more viewers.
CBS and the show’s studio, Warner Bros., had been in talks about a renewal for a while, and things were looking positive. However, the network reversed its decision to cancel SWAT today, and it’s believed that the two police shows had been essentially competing for the same spot on the 2023-24 schedule. Since SWAT has a more established track record and was doing slightly better in the ratings, East New York ended up getting cancelled.
The de facto series finale of East New York airs on May 14th. In the “Ruskin Roulette” episode, Haywood’s leadership is questioned after a tragic shooting close to home, and her relationship with Suarez is tested.
True Lies, another freshman drama from an outside studio, was also cancelled today.
What do you think? Have you watched the East New York TV series on CBS? Are you disappointed this police drama wasn’t renewed for a second season? Are you surprised that it’s been cancelled?