'All Rise' Was Too Diverse for CBS

Photo: CBS

by Julian Spivey
CBS canceled legal drama "All Rise" last week after two seasons and while the decision wasn't exactly surprising given the show's Nielsen ratings it does seem to suggest an issue with the network and with network television in general. 

While speaking about "All Rise" (as well as recently canceled CBS sitcom "The Unicorn"), CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl told Deadline.com: "We creatively love both shows, it's literally a numbers game on the schedule, and it's a number game when it typically comes to getting a renewal. I think these shows were not living up to the potential in terms of an audience that we hoped to see in their respective time slots." 

That makes sense. Network television has always been a numbers game. If enough people watch the show it lives (sometimes seemingly forever as "NCIS" is showing on the same network) and if not enough people watch the network gives it the ax. 

So, I can't really lay as much blame on CBS for the decision, as much as the folks deciding the show wasn't worth their time. Except ... CBS knows their audience, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it also knows its audience is old and white and let's face it "All Rise" was too diverse for the network. 

"All Rise" has followed newly appointed Judge Lola Carmichael (Simone Missick), who immediately begins to challenge the boundaries and expectations of being a judge. The cast is filled out with attorneys, played by Wilson Bethel, Jessica Camacho and J. Alex Brinson, trying to do their best within the system. 

"All Rise" also has taken on systemic racism, especially within law enforcement, during its second season and that's a storyline that definitely doesn't fit with the demographics mostly watching CBS. The show, along with some others on different networks (most notably "The Rookie" on ABC and "New Amsterdam" on NBC) have seen some criticisms of being "woke" (which is now evidently the dirtiest four-letter word on the right) for taking on real-life problems within the world. 

It's just easier for viewers of CBS to swallow crime procedurals where everything is wrapped neatly in a bow and viewers don't have to think about outside problems affecting the real-world. That's why CBS has added another "NCIS" series (the fourth, though it's replacing one that's leaving), another "FBI" series (the third) and is reviving its "CSI" series. White guys solving crimes is the CBS modus operandi. It's just easier for the old white folks to stomach than folks of color trying to make a difference from within. 

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