CBS Sophomore Sitcom Loses Creator and Co-Showrunner on Heels of Season 2 Premiere

10/18/2021 08:24 pm EDT

B Positive is undergoing some massive changes as it heads into its second season at CBS. Following a major cast shakeup, the fan-favorite CBS sitcom returned with its Season 2 premiere on Thursday, Oct. 14 without Mark Pennette, B Positive's creator and co-showrunner.

Deadline confirmed Pennette's exit from the series following the Season 2 premiere. Pennette executive produced B Positive - the series stars Thomas Middleditch, Annaleigh Ashford, Linda Lavin, and Anthony Higgins - with Chuck Lorre (The Big Bang Theory, Two-and-a-Half Men) and former Two and a Half Men executive producer/co-showrunner Jim Patterson. According to the outlet, Pennette left his position after Season 1, which debuted on the network in November 2020 and concluded its freshman run in May of this year. At this time, neither Pennette nor CBS have addressed his departure, and it remains unclear why he is not attached to Season 2.

Pennette's exit marked just the latest change for the series, which returned to CBS with its Season 2 premiere on Thursday, Oct. 14. While the show's freshman run followed therapist and newly divorced dad Drew Dunbar as he discovers he needs a new kidney, and later undergoes a successful transplant after Gina, a rough-around-the-edges woman from his past, volunteers to let him have one of her kidneys, the series underwent a creative revamp heading into Season 2. The sophomore run has shifted focus from Drew to Gina, "who has made it her mission to improve the lives of the elderly residents at Valley Hills Assisted Living, where Drew's former dialysis nurse Gideon (Darryl Stephens) is now employed as head of nursing." During the Season 2 premiere, a resident at Valley Hills retirement home died and left Gina with $48 million, which she used to purchase the assisted living facility.

More changes will come during the Thursday, Oct. 21 episode, titled, "Vermont, Switzerland and Connecticut," which will see the return of Adriana, Drew's girlfriend. Only Adriana will look a little different, as the character has been recast, with Michelle Ortiz taking over the role from Season 1 actress Rosa Salazar. It is unclear why the character was recast.

Despite the massive changes the series has undergone, Season 2 is already pulling in some decent numbers. According to The Hollywood Reporter, B Positive's Season 2 premiere drew in 3.95 million viewers and a 0.46 in the 18-49 demo, on par with fellow CBS series Bull. Those numbers were down from the Season 1 finale, however. New episodes of B Positive air Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

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