My Wife and Kids was one of ABC’s best-loved sitcoms but was cancelled before its sixth season, leaving viewers with an unresolved cliffhanger.
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Fans of My Wife And Kids may remember the season 5 finale “The ‘V’ Story” ended with a cliffhanger. Directed by Tisha Campbell-Martin, the episode centered around Jay reading a newspaper article about a 67-year-old woman giving birth and asking Michael to get a vasectomy to prevent any future baby-shaped surprises. When he chickens out, Jay volunteers to get a hysterectomy instead, but Michael eventually comes around. Just as he tells Jay he’s willing to get the snip, however, she informs him it doesn’t matter anymore because she’s pregnant.
Viewers never got to see how that cliffhanger played out though since season 5 turned out to be My Wife And Kids’ last. The very same day “The ‘V’ Story” aired, news broke ABC had cancelled My Wife And Kids alongside a number of other shows including fellow sitcom 8 Simple Rules and crime drama Blind Justice. Rather than renew the show for a sixth season, ABC instead chose to give its Tuesday 8 pm slot to the Jim Belushi (Twin Peaks) fronted sitcom According to Jim.
Falling ratings and ABC executives feeling the sitcom had played itself out were reportedly to blame for My Wife And Kids being suddenly cancelled. Stephen McPherson, the then president of ABC, also stated that American Idol – which was then airing on Fox on Tuesday nights – was damaging the ratings of ABC’s Tuesday night comedies.
According to Wayans, the cancellation of My Wife And Kids came as a shock to him since he was under the impression from ABC his show had been picked up for the 2005-2006 season. That explains why the season 5 finale concluded with a big cliffhanger because Wayans thought it would be addressed in the next season. Unfortunately, season 6 never came and My Wife And Kids fans are still left wondering what became of the Kyle family and their new addition.
