‘Mom’ got canceled after eight seasons, will end in May: will you miss it?

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It was announced yesterday that the hit sitcom Mom will end after its eighth season. Just last summer, the show’s original co-star, Anna Faris, said she would not be returning for season eight. Anna’s announcement seemed to take many folks by surprise, although it didn’t seem to be acrimonious. Whether it was Anna’s leaving or simply a matter of the story running its course, CBS decided that its number 4 comedy needed to sign off.

Mom will end after eight seasons on CBS, it was announced Wednesday.

The Chuck Lorre comedy followed Christy (Anna Faris) and Bonnie Plunkett (Allison Janney), a dysfunctional mother and daughter battling addiction who find common ground as they navigate sobriety. Farris announced her departure from the series after seven seasons to “pursue new opportunities.”

“For the past eight years, we’ve had the great honor to bring these wonderful characters to life, sharing their struggles and triumphs with millions of viewers every week,” said executive producers Lorre, Gemma Baker, and Nick Bakay.

“From the beginning, we set out to tell stories about recovery from alcoholism and addiction that are rarely portrayed in a network comedy series,” they continued. “Whether it was the emotional reactions of the live audience on tape night inside Stage 20, or discussions at The White House regarding the opioid crisis, or the personal stories we continue to receive on social media, we take great pride in knowing Mom has positively impacted so many lives. We are forever grateful to our brilliant cast and guest stars, wonderful writers, and amazing crew for going on this journey with us.”

[From Entertainment Weekly via Seriously? OMG!]

I watch Mom and I haven’t missed Anna. Not that I didn’t like her character. I just thought they managed well without her. However, I’m not totally surprised by this decision. Many of the characters have had a full arc and the cast would need fresh blood to keep the show from becoming stale. Seriously OMG speculates the decision was likely financially motivated. The show’s been a little hard to find online, too. I was so thrilled to finally be able to watch it without having to get CBS All Access. But they kept taking random weeks off. I saw Allison Janney on Twitter telling fans not to worry, they’d be back next week, as if their break wasn’t scheduled. Last week, I went to see if there was new a episode and I couldn’t find Mom in the lineup, not even when I went to search. Again, this is their 4th highest rated comedy and it wasn’t coming up online. I have no idea if this has anything to do with CBS All Access switching to Paramount Plus next month because I can’t keep all that straight.

Anyway, I think ending Mom might be the right choice for the show. It did some good work, but I think the timing is right. This is good news for Demi Lovato’s food support group show, Hungry, on NBC.

Superstore also suffered Mom’s fate. Lead America Ferrera left last season. Although they wrote in a logical exit, the show will end after this season. It’s also not a bad decision. Brooklyn Nine Nine will end as well after its eighth season and as much as I think that show is still at the top of its game, it’s a good choice. I’m trying out a few other shows, but nothing is doing it for me. Except The Unicorn, which I do like (although I am not sold on Shannon yet – thoughts?). CBS has not announced whether it will return for season three yet.

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Photo credit: Instagram

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41 Responses to “‘Mom’ got canceled after eight seasons, will end in May: will you miss it?”

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  1. Katie says:

    Who still watches cable …

    • tmbg says:

      This is the first time I’ve heard of this show. 🤭

    • Ariel says:

      It is not on cable. It is on network TV. CBS.

    • NorthernGirl_20 says:

      I have cable and I watch it on that. It’s bundled in with our internet and if we cancel we’ll somehow have to pay more ..

      • Ariel says:

        You can watch the current season with an antenna.
        The older ones- you have to pay for cbs all access, or possibly they are in syndication on one of those basic cable channels- its been so long since i had cable…

  2. Call_Me_Al says:

    I’m an addictions counselor, and I loved Mom. It took on so many heavy issues with humor and grace! It’s okay with me that it’s cancelled, we can always watch the episodes on streaming!

  3. LightPurple says:

    A group of middle-aged women dealing with life and all its annoyances and serious problems but mostly about the love that is long-term friendships. It should be missed.

    • Esmom says:

      I have been unable to find anything good to watch recently. Sounds like I need to track this down.

      • Liz version 700 says:

        It is good. The characters are just trying to survive battling addiction and to cope real life problems. Allison Janet is superb. I will miss it.

  4. SarahCS says:

    This show sounds great! I wonder if I’ll be able to watch it anywhere here in the UK..?

    EDIT – season one is on Prime but £2.50 per episode. Nope.

  5. Eenie Googles says:

    All I ever saw were ads and the jokes were painfully bad/dated/corny

    I can’t believe it lasted 8 seasons.

  6. newmenow says:

    I watch CBS all access w/$4.99 a month subscription. No cable for about 4 years and don’t miss cable.

    I enjoyed Mom. I will miss new episodes, they had a strong cast and could have kept producing new shows, IMO.

    Who cancels a show with a cast of proven comedy actors?
    AJ is an Oscar winner, Mimi Kennedy solid pro for decades, French Stewart who should always be working, Kristin Johnson, Jamie, William Finchtner will is a solid drama and comedy actor who has been around for decades.

    I enjoyed it, even tho it kept getting moved around.
    Showing a cast of grown women, and including a love interest who is wheelchair dependent is pretty damn rare. Well written, yes I will miss it.

    • BeanieBean says:

      I think that’s the key to the success of the show–the initial seasons included Anna’s character’s kids, & it’s hard to make comedy about addiction when there’s kids involved. Once their stories were excised & the focus turned to the adults, it really gained strength. I usually watch it in the early AM on a cable channel (so yes, I am a person who still has cable), but don’t look for it during its regular broadcast (streaming movies & TV shows in the evenings), so I was a bit surprised by the photos posted here. Allison Janney, what did you do to your face? You succumbed! I see botox & fillers; and here I thought she was aging beautifully.

  7. Linda says:

    I refuse to watch a show with a laugh track. I like to think I know when to laugh and it needs to actually be funny.

    • Rose says:

      I have the same rule! It’s actually quite annoying when the laugh track starts and I don’t find the joke funny. I quickly change the channel.

    • Persephone says:

      Having been there to witness it, it’s a live audience. And as an audience member, you’re told not to go overboard with the laughter, just laugh if you find it funny.
      Can’t say what happens after, but it may be “sweetened “, I.e. the laughter is amplified.

      • (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

        My BIL was a TV writer/Exec Prod. for 20 odd years. It *is* sweetened (also the mics over the audience are on a separate “track” so they can be punched up). There are multiple takes for each scene, and inbetween, takes they do ask you to laugh “as if you haven’t heard it before”, as well.

  8. Ariel says:

    I have very much enjoyed the show, from the early days before they wrote the kids out COMPLETELY, to this season. LOVE Mimi Kennedy and her incredibly dark past. Love how they deal with addiction.
    The one thing that has always bothered me is how damn white it is. There have been recurring characters, minor characters who were black, but only like 2.
    I wish they would have been more inclusive.
    But overall, it is funny, and deals with human frailty with a lot of forgiveness.

    • LightPurple says:

      I think they originally intended to have Octavia Spencer become a regular but then her career got really busy and they wrote her out.

  9. Sandra says:

    I don’t find any Chuck Lorre shows funny. Try watching one without the laugh track.
    Except for the Kominsky Method. That was good. And didn’t even have or need a laugh track.

    • Persephone says:

      Chuck Lorre shows don’t have a laugh track. The ones with audible laughter have a live studio audience.

  10. Amy Too says:

    I’m surprised it’s only been on for 8 seasons. For some reason I feel like it started 15 years ago and every time I heard about it I was like “holy crap, that show is STILL on?”

  11. Case says:

    I honestly haven’t watched regular network TV in several years now and don’t miss it at all. I find the offerings on streaming services to be so, so much better. And I think after watching a show like Schitt’s Creek (which may have come from network TV in Canada, I guess!), I couldn’t go back to the laugh-track style comedy. Not for me.

  12. Jack says:

    I love this show and will miss it! Allison Janney is wonderful in it and so are so many of the other cast members. I don’t care for Anna so I didn’t miss her.

    • Traveler says:

      I love the show also and am sorry to see it end. I never cared for Anna Faris either and stopped watching it for a while because of her but I enjoyed the ensemble of other people and many of the guest appearances enough to get pulled back in (mostly watch it in reruns or on the NBC app).

  13. Leskat says:

    I haven’t watched a single show mentioned in this article. I’m surprised anyone watches regular TV anymore with these tired, canned ideas and characters. I greatly dislike Anna Faris so I never would watch her voluntarily anyway.

    On another note, if people are going to continue these types of show the show runners need to map out a very specific beginning and end, maybe 5 seasons. Plan an ending!

  14. mellie says:

    I liked this show, enjoyed the cast and the issues it brought forth, but do agree it has run its course. It is one that I will watch in re-runs though so I hope it will still be on somewhere. I guess I’m old school and disagree with many on here, sometimes I enjoy a laugh-track, it brings me back to my childhood…it’s somewhat comforting.

    • petee says:

      It is on Paramount,CMT and Nick At Nite.It run’s pretty much all day and night.I love the show but you knew it was coming to a end.

  15. Murphy says:

    I thought it would survive as long as Alison Janey stayed with it….I appreciated that show b/c it was a vehicle for women actresses (and you didn’t have to be 19 and size 0 to get a part) and it was nice to have a show about sobriety out there instead of the constant onslaught of alcohol.

  16. Sa says:

    Wow, the snobbery against network tv in the comments is really something. Network tv has some great show, so does cable, and so do the streaming services. They also all have some terrible shows. One can not have a particular service without putting it down and insulting the taste of all those who do enjoy it.

  17. JanetDR says:

    I did not miss Anna’s character at all but was still enjoying the show. I thought it had run it’s course before, but liked it this year. By the way I have never had cable, I watch with an antenna. Free is good!

  18. (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

    I gave up on Mom about 2 yrs. ago. The stories just got stale. Then it became the Kristen Johnson show, and while she’s good, it was just too much.

    I do like the Unicorn, and I like the Natalie character (she was *great* on “Detour” with Samantha Bee’s RL husband, Jason Jones) until that went off the rails. She fits in well with the friend group. The bit about the ex not being reliable was funny (and true), but some recent ones feel like they’re dropping the kid issue that a mom with a 6 yr old would have. The only other issue I have with Unicorn is they’re making Delia’s character into a whacky caricature, where she used to be the more “grounded” of the group.

    • BeanieBean says:

      I watched the unicorn a time or two. It was…fine. I think the main character, the ‘unicorn’ himself, bugged me. Those blindingly white teeth & that fake tan just turned me off. I think he’s the weak link, the rest of the cast seems more skilled at comedy than him.

    • Sonia says:

      I like the unicorn, but every time I watch it I can’t stop being reminded that Wade was Venus on Sons of Anarchy!

  19. NotOSM says:

    (long time reader, inconsistent rare commenter with an ever changing name)

    I have Netflix and Crave for when I actively want to watch something, and I’ve caught myself watching Mom a few times since I pick it up with my antenna. I find myself actually watching this when it’s in the background just because the actors all have such great chemistry together and are such shits. It’s perfect non investment fodder and I enjoy Allison Janney immensely. Having only caught a few of the newer episodes without Anna, I find that it doesn’t change the dynamic that much so it’s not a real loss. Still can’t believe this is been on for eight years. It’s been nice to have TV with such strong women as the main characters, so it’ll be missed. Also William Fincher is and forever has been a babe, so I really enjoy when he joins them for the eye candy.

  20. Olliesmom says:

    Regarding The Unicorn. I loved season 1 and was excited that it was back for season 2. Not loving season 2 as much because I think that they matched up Wade way too early with someone. I thought it would funnier to have him still navigating the dating waters Continue a little bit longer. I just think that his relationship with Shannon is kind of flat and awkward.