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CBS has pulled the plug on its rookie drama “Doubt” after two poorly rated episodes



The legal drama starring Katherine Heigl, Steven Pasquale, Laverne Cox and Dule Hill premiered to a 0.8 rating in adults 18-49 on Feb. 15 and fell to a 0.6 with Wednesday’s episode. It’s the first show this season to get yanked before airing its full order, although networks have indicated they won’t order more episodes of several other shows that played out their initial runs.

CBS has scheduled the second season of “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders” to fill the 10 p.m. Wednesday timeslot. It will premiere March 8, following the spring premiere of “Survivor.” A rerun of “Bull” will air in the spot on March 1.

“Doubt” is one of several new 10 o’clock dramas on ABC, CBS and NBC to struggle considerably this season. Several others — “Conviction,” “Pure Genius” and “Training Day” — have averaged under a 1.0 rating in adults 18-49 in 10 p.m. time periods (as have several veteran series).

ABC and CBS have all but canceled “Conviction” and “Pure Genius,” although they’re sticking with the “not ordering more episodes at this time” line. ABC’s “Notorious” had its order cut and is also all but certainly done.

“Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders” will return to the same Wednesday timeslot it occupied last year. Its first season averaged a 1.2 rating in adults 18-49 and 6.92 million viewers the night it aired. A repeat of those numbers this spring would represent a decent-sized upgrade in the time period for CBS.