A serious CBS shake-up has gone down as the network made the decision to axe nearly the entire cast of Bob Hearts Abishola. With just a few episodes of Season 4 remaining, fans can’t help but wonder if Bob Hearts Abishola will return for Season 5.
Fortunately, fans can now rest easy knowing there are plans for the series to return for another season. The renewal confirmation, however, comes with a serious casting shake-up. Per a report from Deadline, nearly ALL of the cast has been axed as regulars.
CBS Axes Nearly Entire Bob Hearts Abishola Cast
Presently, there are a total of 13 cast members of Bob Hearts Abishola that are considered regulars. Of those 13 cast members, all but two have been axed by the network as regulars. Unsurprisingly, Billy Gardell and Folake Olowofoyeku are the two cast members who will return for Season 5 as regulars.
Now, this doesn’t mean the other 11 cast members are being plucked from the series completely. They, however, have been dialed back to recurring cast members. And, per their contracts, they are only guaranteed appearances in five episodes for Season 5.
Deadline goes on to report that there may be a possibility for some of the recurring cast members to appear in more than five episodes. It just depends on who is available and where the storyline goes.
The outlet goes on to report this should come as no real cause for concern as cutting back regular cast members and locking in fewer regulars is becoming more standard in the industry as part of a cost-cutting effort. Dialing the cast back to just two lead roles, however, is more of an extreme move than other TV shows have done in the past.
Season 5 Has Been Confirmed
Deadline goes on to confirm CBS has renewed the series for Season 5 and has ordered 13 episodes. There are a few conflicting reports that CBS may also have an order for nine additional episodes. This would bring the total to 22 episodes. At 22 episodes, the recurring cast members would still only be guaranteed five episodes.
With this casting shake-up, the recurring cast members will no longer be locked into an exclusivity contract. So, this frees them up to pursue other roles. As recurring cast members, they’ll just need to give the crew their availability so their five-episode stretch can be worked into the plotline for Season 5.
Obviously, this cast shake-up has fans of the series concerned that the budget cut means the series is at risk of being canceled after Season 5.
What are your thoughts on this massive casting change to Bob Hearts Abishola? Let us know in the comments down below. And, keep coming back for more TV news.
[Feature Photo: Michael Yarish/CBS ©2023 CBS Broadcasting, Inc.]