CBS Gets a Little Less Gay

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Today in showbiz news: CBS has canceled Partners, but its Big Bang Theory is bangier than ever, and two trailers for two promising comedies. 

Word comes today that struggling freshman sitcom Partners has been taken off the CBS schedule, surprising basically nobody. The show — about two lifelong best friends, one straight and one gay, turned business partners — was met with unenthusiastic critical reception upon its premiere and, while still doing significantly better than a lot of other network sitcoms, was far from a ratings powerhouse for big bad CBS. The show was created by Will & Grace duo Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, and was based on their own friendship, and starred TV faves Michael Urie (as the gay) and David Krumholtz (as the straight), so it certainly had the appearance of a top-drawer sitcom, but alas in practice it tended to rely on easy, dated gay jokes instead of saying anything new, and had two supporting characters that never really connected. Certainly not the way Karen and Jack did, at least. So, oh well. CBS, long the least gay-friendly broadcast network, is down another pair. They'll get them back though. Once Sheldon comes out on Big Bang Theory and DiNozzo makes a teary confession on the NCIS season finale it'll be like nothing happened. [The Hollywood Reporter]

On the flip side of CBS sitcom news, Big Bang Theory had its highest-ever ratings night yesterday, with an enormous 17.4 million people tuning for a 5.5 rating. That's pretty huge especially when you consider, as Entertainment Weekly points out, that it's at 8pm, meaning no lead-in. It's just doing a standing high jump up allll the way up to 17 million viewers. Those are 1990s numbers, right there. Like, old timey Must See TV numbers. So where did everyone come from? It's not like Big Bang is the new hot show. It's been on for five years! Though, to be fair, there aren't any new hot shows. Not a single new hot show across the board. So why shouldn't a five-year-old sitcom that mocks intellect as weird and off-putting be a hit in Guy Fieri's America right now? I see no reason. Continue on, Big Bang Theory. May you one day reach Friendsian, 20 million-plus high of that show's last five seasons. You're almost there. [Entertainment Weekly]

Speaking of Friends and TV successes, though on the lower end of the ratings scale, Showtime has renewed Lisa Kudrow's Web Therapy for a third season. The show, which originally began online as some sort of weird Lexus ad thing, doesn't do all that well, but it probably costs about three nickels to produce and Kudrow, as talented as ever, seems to be able to attract some pretty remarkable guest stars. Including La Streep. So why the hell not keep it on the air. Beats making another acidic dramedy about a woman with a problem who swears all the time. I mean, this show is sort of that without the swearing, but whatever. You know what I mean. [Deadline]

Here's a trailer for the big Sandra Bullock/Melissa McCarthy buddy cop movie The Heat, directed by Bridesmaids' Paul Feig and filmed in beautiful old Boston. It looks pretty funny? I mean it's mostly Melissa McCarthy making different variations on the same joke, but that's OK, right? It's a funny joke. And who doesn't like Sandra Bullock in straight-up comedies? I mean, other than All About Steve and The Proposal and probably Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous? She's so fun in comedies! And look, it's Biff Tannen! Can't go wrong with Biff. Was just watching Freaks and Geeks for the millionth time during the blackout and was wondering where he went, but I couldn't use my phone's dying power to look him up on IMDb, plus there was no reception anyway, but now I know. All good things come to those who wait, you see.

And here's a trailer for Tina Fey and Paul Rudd's Admission, about a college admissions counselor who finds out she might have a son who might be a prodigy. It looks a little more dramatic than we're used to seeing from Fey — what with the baby given up for adoption and all that — but hey, I'm all for that. Comedic actors doing serious stuff is one of my favorite things to see in the world. Doesn't always work, but man is it always interesting. And she and Paul Rudd probably have good chemistry, right? How could they not? And my oh my is that Gloria Reuben? In a comedy? Between this and Lincoln, that lady is having a mini renaissance. Good for her. Anyway, yes to this.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.