March 20, 2017 - 11:40 AMT
“Mom” Anna Faris-Allison Janney comedy close to season 5 renewal

CBS is closing in on a deal with Warner Bros. TV to renew the Anna Faris-Allison Janney comedy “Mom” for a fifth season, Variety has learned.

The news that a pickup is near comes as the sitcom wraps production tonight on its fourth season. CBS declined to comment.

“Mom” has been a steady performer for the Eye in its fourth season, averaging a 1.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic and an average audience of 7.55 million per episode just in Nielsen’s Live+Same Day ratings. It typically adds a little more than 20% to its viewership total once delayed viewing in seven days is factored in.

The Chuck Lorre comedy centers around mother-daughter pair Bonnie (Janney) and Christy (Faris) who are recovering alcoholics. Janney won the best supporting actress in a comedy Emmy two years in a row for the role — 2014 and 2015 — and was nominated again in 2016.

Word of “Mom” getting the thumbs up for season five comes as CBS and Warner Bros. TV are finalizing a two-season pickup of tentpole comedy “The Big Bang Theory,” also from the Chuck Lorre Productions. The “Big Bang” spinoff “Young Sheldon” last week grabbed a straight-to-series order for next season.

“Mom” hails from Chuck Lorre Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. Lorre, Eddie Gorodetsky and Nick Bakay serve as executive producers for the series, which was created by Lorre, Gorodetsky and Gemma Baker, who serves as co-executive producer. WB sold the off-network rights to the series to Tribune Broadcasting last summer. In addition to Tribune, Warner Bros. Domestic TV Distribution has also parceled off the rights to “Mom” to stations owned by CBS, Hearst, TEGNA, Nexstar, Meredith and others.