Robin Williams' final TV role wasn't in a gritty drama or a legacy revival—it was in The Crazy Ones, a sitcom CBS axed after one season. On paper, it had everything: Williams' manic genius, Sarah Michelle Gellar as his straight-laced daughter, and Kelley (Ally McBeal, Big Little Lies) steering the ship. Yet it crashed. Hard.
But here's the kicker: CBS knew it was bad—and didn't care.
The Promise vs. The Reality
Kelley admitted the show was a misfire. The premise—a washed-up ad exec reconnecting with his daughter—was fertile ground for Williams' improvisational tornado. Instead, the scripts were, in Kelley's words, “hold-your-nose bad.” Even worse? CBS shrugged.
Their response was, basically, ‘We don't care if it's any good. Robin Williams is funny. It's very compatible with the way people watch TV now.'
Translation: Audiences weren't watching anymore—they were multitasking. The bar had sunk to “background noise.”
The Cynical Math of Modern TV
Kelley, a 10-time Emmy winner, was used to crafting watercooler moments. But by 2014, networks prioritized “compatibility” over quality—fitting into distracted viewers' lives, not commanding them.
- Ratings Drop: Strong debut, then a nosedive as audiences realized the show wasn't Mork & Mindy 2.0.
- Legacy Lost: Unlike Williams' films or stand-up, The Crazy Ones is buried—unstreamable, a DVD relic.
Closer: A Eulogy for Effort
Williams' performance? Still electric. The show's failure? A symptom of TV's race to the bottom. CBS bet that star power could mask lazy writing. They were wrong.
The Crazy Ones isn't a bad show—it's a time capsule. Proof that even legends get chewed up by an industry that forgot how to try.
Agree? Or was CBS right to let Williams phone it in? Sound off below.
