Shocked? ‘Til Death’ Gets Fourth Season

Here’s a stunner of sorts.

The Brad Garrett/Joely Fisher sitcom ‘Til Death has been off the air since October 8 of last year, with not a word about a return date. This caused many industry watchers to believe the likelihood of the show returning was slim to none, especially since just seven episodes of ‘Til Death have aired thus far during its current third season, three of which were holdovers from the writers strike-shortened second season.

Yet, Fox recently announced at the Television Critics Association Press Tour currently underway that the network has renewed the comedy for not just a fourth season, but a full fourth season with 22 episodes. Why, you ask, given its lengthy absence, not to mention poor average ratings of about 4 million total viewers, give or take a few thousand?

Well, it turns out the series is produced by Sony Pictures Television, which reportedly agreed to decrease its licensing fee for the full fourth season so that Fox would agree to the pickup. The studio would then presumably make up for the immediate loss from the reduced licensing fee when/if ‘Til Death is syndicated with a larger inventory of episodes.

It’s weird, isn’t it, the things that keep a series on television — or rather, in production in ‘Til Death‘s case, since it does’t actually air at the moment — when fans are clamoring for the survival of prematurely canceled but beloved shows like Pushing Daisies and Lipstick Jungle? That’s business for ya — dollars, not loyal viewers, rule.

And, for the fans of ‘Til Death who still follow it: no mention has been made of the Woodcocks or the actors who played them — Eddie Kaye Thomas and Kat Foster — returning.