Here's Why 'Me, Myself & I' Never Stood A Chance For Renewal

After a tumultuous first season, CBS's Me, Myself and I is getting ready to air it's season finale on July 21. The series stars Jack Dylan Grazer, Bobby Moynihan, and John Larroquette as the same character, Alex Riley, at three stages of his life: ages 14, 40, and 65, respectively. Unfortunately for the future of the three Alexes, the show hasn't done very well in either the ratings department or impressing the critics. Which sadly means that Me, Myself & I won't return for Season 2 next year. So where did Me, Myself & I go wrong? Allow me, myself, and I to break it down for you. (Sorry, I had to.).

Back in November, TV Line reported that after just six episodes, the network decided to pull the show from it's regular Monday 9:30 pm ET time slot. Sticking 9JKL in its place, CBS left Me, Myself, & I off the schedule until this July, when they brought it back to fill its original 13-episode order. Such an abrupt change is hardly a good sign when it comes to predicting the longevity of a series, and clearly, the writing was on the wall.

Looking at Me, Myself & I's track record, the official news of the cancellation back in May should hardly come as a shock. The ratings for the show were pretty abysmal, especially by CBS standards. According to TVSeriesFinale.com, Season 1 is currently pulling in a 0.80 rating among the 18-49 demographic, with 4.02 million viewers. Compare that to the network's comedy crown jewel, The Big Bang Theory, which has a current rating of 2.74, TVSeriesFinale.com reports. That's a pretty big difference. Put in other terms, Big Bang Theory is sitting pretty at the top of the network's ranking, with Me, Myself, & I coming in all the way down at number 22 out of 26. Yikes.

Sometimes ratings aren't such a big deal, so long as the series is a hit with the critics, like CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which Variety dubbed one of the networks lowest rated shows. Nevertheless, Crazy Ex Girlfriend is on track for Season 4 already, thanks to the two Emmys and Golden Globes the show managed to bring in, and a legion of dedicated Rachel Bloom fans.

Unfortunately, that doesn't appear to be the case with Me, Myself & I. Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter noted that the cast was talented, for sure, but the critic found it odd that the three Alex's looked nothing alike. Things just didn't match up all over for Fienberg — he added that the show also failed to live up to its ambitious style and talented cast. Basically, the premise was a good one, but it wasn't executed properly, according to The Hollywood Reporter critic.

Others agreed with him. For example. Margaret Lyons ofThe New York Times called the series out for positioning Alex as an underdog, when in fact, the life they created for him is a pretty privileged one. "He has no problems," Lyons wrote, "Jumping around in time doesn’t make it seem like he’s conquered anything; he seems like he’s never had to conquer much at all." So the critics weren't exactly impressed.

Of course, in this day and age, what is dead may never die. Perhaps CBS is open to selling the series to a streaming platform like Hulu or CMT, which happened with other fan favorite shows such as The Mindy Project and Nashville, respectively. Streaming websites and premium cable networks make most of their money off subscriptions, so they don't have to rely so much on the advertising income that high ratings bring in, like network shows do.

But does Me, Myself & I even have a strong enough fan base to help attract a buyer like Netflix, or entice CBS to give it a second screen life? Well, if you really love the show, make sure that after the finale you rewatch the episodes that are available on the CBS website. Increased viewership after the show is off the air could be a major selling feature for streaming sites. It's a long shot, but it couldn't hurt to try if you were one of the people who loved the sitcom during it's too-short run.