Why 'East New York' Hasn't Been Renewed for Season 2 (or Canceled) Yet

CBS' freshman cop drama East New York has yet to be renewed or canceled, but unfortunately, the reasoning may not be so cut and dry. According to a report from Deadline, the series is suffering both budget cuts, as are a lot of shows, and rights negotiations. CBS has reportedly requested streaming rights for the Amanda Warren-led series, which is produced by Warner Bros. TV, which is a slippery slope. 

With the first season of East New York currently streaming on Paramount+, the request is for previous seasons on a non-exclusive basis to be made available on the Paramount Global Platform. Due to rights and third-party studio controls, it's tricky. While shows have been made available on numerous platforms, with S.W.A.T. moving to Netflix this summer as an example, it sounds like it's not as simple this time.

Airing after The Equalizer and before the final season of NCIS: Los Angeles, East New York has done a decent job in ratings. It's possible that if CBS really wants to keep the show going, hopefully, they would really work to negotiate rights. However, it's hard to tell how that would work since it's probably not easy to go through. If CBS does cancel the series, it's also possible it will be shopped around elsewhere, of course, depending on rights. So really, anything can happen at this point.

There's only two episodes left of East New York's first season, and as of now, there's no telling when CBS could announce a renewal or cancellation. Networks are still making decisions, even more so now since the annual network Upfront presentations are next month. There's always the possibility of a show getting canceled, no matter what the numbers or behind-the-scenes looks like, but unless CBS and Warner Bros. can come to an agreement over streaming rights, I fear that the series won't last long.

Along with Amanda Warren, East New York also stars Kevin Rankin, Richard Kind, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Olivia Luccardi, Lavel Schley, Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Jimmy Smits. It centers on the lives of officers and detectives at the NYPD's 74th precinct in East New York, more specifically, the Brooklyn neighborhood. With all of the intense action already on the series, it would be a shame to lose it. For now, fans will just have to look forward to the end of the season and hope that the team sticks around.