CBS canceled the medical drama “Watson” after two seasons, even as the show placed among the 100 most-watched series on American television for the 2025-26 season, new industry data shows.
The network confirmed the cancellation in late March, with the series finale airing May 3. “Watson” was created by Craig Sweeny and starred Morris Chestnut as Dr. John Watson, reimagined in modern times as the head of a Pittsburgh clinic dedicated to diagnosing rare disorders — six months after Sherlock Holmes died fighting his archenemy, Moriarty.
The show arrived as a bona fide hit. According to Nielsen and internal CBS data cited by TV Series Finale, its series premiere drew 18.7 million multiplatform viewers in live-plus-35-day totals, making it the network’s most-watched scripted episode of the 2024-25 season. But the audience eroded sharply in subsequent weeks, and by its second season, viewership had fallen to well under 3 million viewers per episode.
CBS announced renewals for 10 primetime shows in January without including “Watson,” effectively sealing its fate before the network made the cancellation official. By that point, Deadline had reported that “Watson” had ranked as the lowest-rated scripted series on CBS, with the network waiting to see how the show performed after its March 1 return before rendering a final verdict.
CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach acknowledged the difficulty of the decision.
“Morris Chestnut is maybe one of the greatest No. 1’s I’ve ever dealt with. But, you know, it’s a high bar on CBS. We aggregate all the numbers, and we have to make those tough decisions in order to make room for new shows,” she said, per Deadline.
Yet end-of-season viewership data complicates the network’s rationale. According to Variety’s rankings of the 100 most-watched series of the 2025-26 television season, “Watson” averaged 6.4 million viewers and ranked No. 74 overall — placing it alongside other canceled titles that outperformed many shows granted additional seasons. Variety noted that “Watson,” Netflix’s “Boots” (6.5 million), Netflix’s “The Abandons” (5.8 million) and CBS’ “DMV” (5.7 million) all made the top-100 list yet were canceled “for a variety of stated reasons,” with some blamed on costly budgets or declining viewership.
The show’s departure leaves fans without resolution. The series finale aired May 3, concluding a run that ended on an unresolved cliffhanger.
Mr. Chestnut addressed the cancellation publicly on social media.
“Hey everybody, as the world has heard, unfortunately Watson will not be coming back for Season 3. Yes, it’s disappointing, but that’s the way the showbiz beast is,” he said.
In a separate written statement, he added: “After two incredible seasons, I’m so grateful for the experience. It wouldn’t have been the same without the amazing cast and crew. Thank you for making it so special. To all the fans who showed love and supported Watson, thank you so much.”
According to TV Series Finale, “Watson” was not alone in its cancellation — CBS also canceled the single-camera workplace comedy “DMV,” starring Tim Meadows, after one season. Both series aired their finales in May 2026.
This article was constructed with the assistance of artificial intelligence and published by a member of The Washington Times' AI News Desk team. The contents of this report are based solely on The Washington Times' original reporting, wire services, and/or other sources cited within the report. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at sfink@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.