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CBS is excommunicating “Living Biblically” after eight episodes



The network has pulled the comedy from its Monday-night schedule, effective next week. Following a planned night of comedy repeats on April 23, reruns of “The Big Bang Theory” will take “Living Biblically’s” place on the schedule for the next several weeks.

The show has struggled in the ratings since its Feb. 26 premiere. It opened with a 0.8 rating among adults 18-49 and hasn’t gone higher since then; through eight episodes it’s averaging a replacement-level 0.7 the night it airs, along with 4.21 million viewers.

Delayed viewing hasn’t helped the show much — a week of playback only pushes the show to 0.9 and 5.4 million viewers. It’s the lowest-rated comedy CBS has aired this season.

Loosely based on the book “The Year of Living Biblically” by A.J. Jacobs, “Living Biblically” stars Jay R. Ferguson as a guy who decides to spend an entire year living by the sometimes arcane rules set forth in the Bible. The cast also includes Lindsey Kraft, Ian Gomez, David Krumholtz, Tony Rock and Camryn Manheim.

The show’s remaining episodes may air in the summer. CBS has burned off remainders of canceled series on Saturdays in the summer in the past couple of years.