CBS’ Handler on the Ropes

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CBS has reduced its order for Friday night’s The Handler, starring Joe Pantoliano. The network now will pick up 15 or 16 episodes of the show from Viacom Productions instead of the full 22-episode order.

After Jan. 9, CBS will have aired 12 episodes of the show, leaving only a few more to air. While CBS won’t confirm the show’s cancellation, it’s unlikely it will return once the remaining episodes air.

It’s unclear what will air in the show’s Friday 10 p.m. time slot, one of the few places on CBS’s schedule the network hasn’t been able to fix.

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.