CBS canceled the planned spinoff of its comedy series The Neighborhood, which was set to follow characters Malcolm and Marty Butler as they navigate life in Venice Beach, a location drastically different from their parents' neighborhood. Cedric the Entertainer, star and executive producer, expressed surprise and disappointment at the network's decision, attributing it to the current transitional state of the television industry and budget constraints. Despite these setbacks, Cedric remains hopeful that fan support could revive the project, especially after the backdoor pilot airs in the season seven finale. The network's reluctance to invest in new pilots reflects broader industry trends of cautious financial expenditure. Cedric encouraged fans to express their enthusiasm to CBS, hoping that their voices might influence future decisions regarding the spinoff.

The Neighborhood spinoff was planned to focus on Malcolm and Marty Butler's new adventures in Venice Beach, a setting both familiar and foreign, marking their transition from living with their parents.

Cedric the Entertainer, who plays a lead role and serves as executive producer, was surprised by CBS's decision to scrap the spinoff plans, citing the challenging economic environment of the TV industry as a contributing factor.

The television industry is experiencing a transitional period, leading networks to be cautious with spending and hesitant about greenlighting new pilots, as highlighted by Cedric.

Despite the cancellation, there is a possibility of revival if the backdoor pilot, set to premiere in the season seven finale, garners substantial fan support.

Cedric urged fans to write to CBS to express their interest in the spinoff, believing that strong viewer enthusiasm could sway the network's decision.

The economic constraints faced by broadcast networks are causing them to focus on workshopping ideas rather than committing to substantial financial investments in new shows.

A character from the spinoff had already been introduced in The Neighborhood, indicating that some groundwork for the new series had been laid before its cancellation.

A spinoff of the fan-favorite CBS comedy series The Neighborhood was in the works, but the network sadly scrapped plans to move forward with the show.

The proposed series, which will be introduced in the season seven finale on May 5, would have followed Malcolm and Marty Butler as they “embark on new adventures, finally leaving their parents’ nest to start the next chapter of their lives, finding themselves the newcomers in a neighborhood that’s both close but yet worlds apart: Venice Beach.”

The Neighborhood star and executive producer Cedric the Entertainer is opening up about the cancellation, telling TVLine he was “somewhat” surprised by the decision to scrap plans for the show.

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“I do recognize that we’re in a very difficult time as far as television goes,” he told TVLine. “We were excited about doing this. We created the idea, and we intentionally tried to use an episode of The Neighborhood that we had in order to shoot it.” But as he points out, the TV industry is in a state of transition, and broadcast networks are “not doing a lot of pilots [anymore]. They’re not spending a lot of money… they’re just kind of workshopping ideas. We thought we did a great job, but ultimately there wasn’t enough room in the budget for what we had.”

Cedric still has hope that the spinoff could happen if fans love the backdoor pilot.

“I was a little disappointed, for sure,” Cedric added. “I want everybody to write in [to CBS], because I think people are going to see this season finale and be, like, ‘That’s a great show! Y’all should do that show!’”

One character from the spinoff was introduced on The Neighborhood a couple weeks ago.