- 'WKRP In Cincinnati' aired four seasons on CBS
- The popular show ended back in 1982
- This is why 'WKRP' was cancelled
'WKRP In Cincinnati' still makes fans laugh to this day. The sitcom aired from 1978 to 1982 and followed the hijinks at the 'WKRP' radio station. CBS, however, cancelled the show after just four seasons. Why is that?
This is why 'WKRP In Cincinnati' was cancelled
It always seemed strange that CBS cancelled 'WKRP In Cincinnati' so soon. But the show never quite fit on the network. Consider this: across four seasons, CBS changed WKRP's time slot 12 times. Crazy!
'WKRP In Cincinnati' also struggled with low ratings. It cracked TV's Top 30 list just once in four seasons. But the constant schedule changes had a big impact. Ratings continued to drop through season 4, and CBS didn't renew WKRP after that.
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CBS never really explained why they ended 'WKRP In Cincinnati'. But the consensus is: it was because the network mishandled the schedule, never giving WKRP a chance to succeed. Low ratings followed and that was the end.
For example, in the 1990s, the 'Deseret News' wrote: "If ever there were a show that was killed by the stupidity of network programmers, 'WKRP' was it." 'Outsider' adds that it was a "ratings sabotage."
But fans really did like the show. Right after 'WKRP' was cancelled, its reruns scored crazy good ratings. This success even led to the revival series The New WKRP In Cincinnati, which aired another two seasons in the '90s.
All these years later, most of the WKRP In Cincinnati cast is still around, though we have lost a few of the stars. And the "turkey drop" episode remains a popular reference.
