NBC's 'Sunnyside' is first cancellation of the new TV season
Kal Penn, left, Joel Kim Booster and Poppy Liu star in NBC's "Sunnyside." Credit: NBC / Tina Thorpe
"Sunnyside," the NBC freshman comedy that borrows its name from the Queens neighborhood, will be dropped from the prime-time lineup after this Thursday, becoming the first network casualty of the 2019 fall season. NBC will air the final season of the "Will & Grace" reboot (the 11th season) in the "Sunnyside" 9:30 p.m. time slot starting Oct. 24.
"Sunnyside," about a disgraced Queens councilman (Kal Penn) who helps newcomers get their citizenship papers, wasn't technically canceled because episodes will continue to stream at NBC.com (and on Hulu). NBC ordered a total of eleven episodes, per Deadline, and each is expected to stream.
The sitcom didn't draw much of a so-called "live" or "same-day" audience but there was evidence the show was getting a second wind online; the Oct. 3 telecast, for example, added another half-million within a few days. Nevertheless, it was still the least-viewed of this fall's newcomers, while by contrast, "NCIS" — which remains network TV's most watched non-sports series — was seen by 12.5 million viewers on Oct. 2.
As for "Will & Grace," which made a successful return to prime time in 2017, a trailer for the upcoming final season dropped a major bombshell: Grace (Messing) is pregnant.
