CBS cuts diplomatic ties with the United States Of Al

CBS has formally pulled its diplomatic recognition of the United States Of Al tonight, with Deadline reporting that the sitcom’s second season will be its last. The Chuck Lorre-produced show was one of four Lorre series CBS had on its schedule over the last year, alongside fellow sophomore effort B Positive, three-season series Bob Hearts Abishola, and the unkillable metal juggernaut that we humans who live in fearful worship of it refer to as Young Sheldon.

United States Of Al—which airs its penultimate episode this week, and its now-series finale on May 19—stars Parker Young as Riley, an American veteran of the fighting in Afghanistan, and Adhir Kalyan as Awalmir “Al” Karimi, an interpreter who worked with Riley in his native country before moving to the United States and moving in with him.

Like many outlets, we came away from the first season of United States Of Al disappointed; as great as it was to see a network sitcom focus on an Afghan immigrant (and have Afghan actors and writers working in front of and behind the camera), the show’s first season also fell back on lazy stereotypes and ham-fisted attempts at both comedy and meaning. (Our own Saloni Gajjar, in her March 2021 review: “As well-intentioned as it may be, it’s this exact method of presenting authentic, unexplored stories to mainstream audiences in the laziest manner that fails the marginalized community it’s trying to depict.”) Deadline does note, though, that the series has drawn some praise for its second season, including a season premiere that talked seriously about the consequences of the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

United States Of Al was created by David Goetsch and Maria Ferrari; Elizabeth Alderfer, Kelli Goss, Dean Norris, and Farrah Mackenzie all co-starred. Deadline notes that CBS’ decision to cancel the series might bode well for Lorre’s B Positive; executives at the network were supposedly weighing which of the two second-season sitcoms to keep around.