Will The Neighborhood Season 2 Finale Ever Happen?
TV and film sets are shutting down left and right as the coronavirus continues to ravage the country, and no production is safe. Not high-profile blockbusters like The Matrix 4. Not critically-acclaimed or fan-favorite TV shows like The Witcher. Not even cozy, family-oriented sitcoms like CBS' The Neighborhood.
According to Deadline, production on The Neighborhood's second season has shut down early, leaving the final episode of the season unfinished. Originally, producers were going to film The Neighborhood's second season finale on Tuesday, March 17 without the show's regular studio audience in attendance, but those plans changed Friday and the episode was removed from production entirely. As of right now, CBS does not intend to re-film the episode at a later date, meaning that the official season finale isn't likely to ever see the light of day.
This isn't the first time that production on The Neighborhood has hit a snag. Back in 2018, New Girl and Veronica Mars actor Max Greenfield replaced House of Lies actor Josh Lawson, who had already filmed The Neighborhood's pilot, as one of the series' two leads, necessitating some quick reshoots.
On The Neighborhood, Greenfield stars as a well-meaning but clueless white Midwesterner who relocates his family into a predominantly black neighborhood in Los Angeles. Once there, he butts heads with his new neighbor, a garage owner played by Cedric the Entertainer. The show's take on race relations in modern American has drawn some comparisons to All in the Family and other Norman Lear productions, although The Neighborhood doesn't have the same charm. Hey, it was on our list of the worst television shows of 2018 for a reason.
The Neighborhood isn't the only show whose season finale is in jeopardy thanks to COVID-19
If you're a fan of The Neighborhood, the lack of a proper season finale is bound to be a bummer, but it could be worse. The Neighborhood isn't a heavily serialized show. It doesn't have long-running plotlines that need to be wrapped up or cliffhangers to resolve. As such, the penultimate episode of the season is probably just as good a place to leave things as any.
Not every production interrupted by the coronavirus outbreak is as lucky. As Deadline points out, NBC's Superstore is in a similar situation, but the stakes on that show are much higher. Not only does Superstore get better reviews than The Neighborhood, but lead actress America Ferrera and her $10 million smile are set to leave the series after the current season.
Presumably, the fifth season finale was going to be Ferrera's big send-off. Without it, it remains to be seen exactly how store 1217 will explain Amy Sosa's absence when Superstore returns for its already-announced sixth season. Hopefully, Superstore's can talk Ferrera into making one last cameo. She's been Superstore's headliner for five years. She deserves a real farewell.