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Tough lesson in the biz for cast of TBS’ ‘My Boys’

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TBS’ decision to cancel its comedy ‘My Boys’ after four seasons certainly must have bummed out the cast of the show more than the usual cancellation. After all, two of the cast members had to walk away from jobs on NBC shows because TBS had given the impression that the sitcom about a tomboy sportswriter and her guy friends had a good shot at making it to a fifth season.

NBC had cast ‘My Boys’ stars Jordana Spiro and Kyle Howard for its midseason comedies ‘Love Bites’ and ‘Perfect Couples,’ respectively. At the time, the industry consensus was that ‘My Boys,’ which had gotten some critical acclaim but had never really made a dent in the Nielsens, would be gone.

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However, TBS felt differently and didn’t release the cast to pursue other shows. Though on the one hand that might have seemed like a vote of confidence for the future of ‘My Boys,’ TBS also moved it from its Tuesday 10 p.m. slot to a much tougher Sunday 10 p.m. slot where its ratings took a big tumble.

Such is life in the TV business. TBS certainly did nothing wrong here in wanting to keep its actors under contract on the show for a fifth season. NBC probably shouldn’t have cast Spiro and Howard before TBS had given ‘My Boys’ its walking papers. Finally, maybe TBS could have given the actors a conditional release since the odds of both those NBC shows making it are long.

But if you start cutting sweetheart deals for actors, then everyone wants one and that would lead to more chaos. Maybe TBS can have Conan O’Brien book Spiro and Howard on his late-night show to make it up to them.

-- Joe Flint

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For the record: The photo credit was corrected from Jordanna Sparks to Jordana Spiro.

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