Per a tweet from series star Minnie Driver, critically praised family comedy Speechless will continue for a third season.
Though Speechless dropped over 30% in the demo this season, the show still put up numbers that made it competitive for a renewal, even in the very strong ABC comedy slate. What likely pushed it over the top was the impending Disney/FOX merger, which would turn the show from a co-production to a project fully in-house at ABC. This means that all syndication and streaming profits would go to ABC instead of the network having to split it with FOX, so something syndicatable like Speechless with 41 episodes begged for a renewal.
What remains to be seen is what ABC does with their comedies next season. Given that the show still has a ways to syndication and comes into 2018-2019 with a 22-episode order, it’s guaranteed a spot in the fall, but space at ABC is tight right now. One option would be for it to bump one of the other bubble comedies out, while ABC could very well expand their comedy hours in the fall, either to Sunday or Friday. Regardless, though, Speechless will likely be moving so that ABC can launch a new show between The Goldbergs and the likely final season of Modern Family.
The second season finale of Speechless aired this past March on ABC.
