CBS Renews 'The Mentalist', But Cancels Five Other Shows

CBS has made some pretty stunning decisions in the past 24 hours. No, I'm not talking about the decision to pick up The Odd Couple reboot and NCIS: New Orleans, but rather the latest renewal and cancellation news.

After living on the bubble for most of the season, The Mentalist has pulled out a minor miracle and secured a renewal. The long-running crime drama will be back in the fall for season seven, with showrunner Bruno Heller pulling double-duty between the CBS procedural and his new FOX drama Gotham, which has been picked up to series.

But with the renewal comes bad news for five other shows on the CBS lineup. The network has canceled freshman dramas Hostages and Intelligence, while axing three first-year comedies, The Crazy Ones, Friends With Better Lives, and Bad Teacher, which is only three episodes in, at the moment (because I guess if you aren't a crime procedural, you don't really get much of a chance on CBS).

As for other comedy news, despite early reports of a series pickup, CBS has yet to actually make a decision on whether to move forward with How I Met Your Dad, the spinoff of the recently-concluded How I Met Your Mother. If the network does somehow pass on the series, it could be a combination of casting and creative woes, coupled with the backlash against the controversial HIMYM series finale back in March. But even with the ire against series creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, I can't see CBS not testing the waters with the show. However, one would expect CBS would have announced a pickup by now. I guess we'll find out the fate of the show soon enough. Until then, sound off in the comments and let us know what you think about these renewals and cancellations, in addition to whether you believe How I Met Your Dad deserves a shot.

Credit: CBS