CBS has officially let go of Living Biblically.
The freshman sitcom previously pulled the show after airing eight episodes from its Monday lineup in mid April and replaced it with reruns of The Big Bang Theory.
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Living Biblically stars Mad Men alum Jay R. Ferguson as a man who decides to change his life by living strictly according to what’s written in the Bible. The supporting cast includes Ian Gomez, Lindsey Kraft, David Krumholtz, Camryn Manheim and Tony Rock.
The show, which premiered Feb. 26, followed Ferguson’s Chip Churry, a modern day man at a crossroads in his life, who decides to live strictly in accordance with the Bible. His smart, pregnant wife, Leslie (Kraft), while both skeptical and entertained by her husband’s new passion, supports him completely.
Knowing he’ll need some practical advice, Chip forms a “God Squad” with Father Gene (Gomez), a Catholic Priest who helps Chip translate the rules of the Bible to a modern world; and Father Gene’s best friend, easygoing Rabbi Gil Abelman (Krumholtz), who respects Chip’s chutzpah and is glad to serve as a sounding board when they meet at their local bar.
As he begins his sincere spiritual journey toward a more moral life with the help of his wife and friends, Chip wonders if he’ll be able to take a page – or every page – out of the Good Book, and if the effect will be of Biblical proportions.
The series relied heavily on pop culture references, and even went on to describe phones and Beyoncé as “false idols” in one of its earlier episodes.
The series premiered to 5 million total viewers and a 0.8 demo rating, slightly below what 9JKL did in the same timeslot in fall 2017.
The network previously canceled comedies 9JKL, Me, Myself & I and Wisdom of the Crowd on Saturday. The move was just a formality, as none of the shows were expected to go beyond a first season.
9JKL was the only one of the three that had a shot at surviving, as it starred Royal Pains actor Mark Feuerstein, who also co-created it with Dana Klein. The show aired after The Big Bang Theory on Mondays in the fall, but still only earned 8.2 million viewers and a 1.6 18-49 rating for its debut. When it moved to Mondays at 9:30 p.m. without The Big Bang Theory, it earned a 0.8 18-49 rating. It was averaging 7.40 million viewers in Live+7 viewing.
Me, Myself & I was a high-concept comedy starring Saturday Night Live veteran Bobby Moynihan and told the story of one man in three different periods of his life. The show never connected with viewers though and was pulled from the schedule after its sixth episode aired so Matt LeBlanc’s Man With A Plan could premiere early.
In November, CBS announced it would not order a “back nine” for Wisdom of the Crowd, effectively canceling the show back then. The move followed an investigation into Piven, who was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women. Anastasia Taneie and Ariane Bellamar accused Piven of assault when they appeared on Entourage. In January, three more women accused Piven of sexual assault.
Piven denied the allegations, even taking a polygraph test in an attempt to prove he was not lying.
