Why Chuck Lorre's Controversial Sitcom The United States Of Al Was Canceled

Clearly, not everything's gold that comes from the King of Sitcoms, Chuck Lorre. The veteran TV producer and writer might've produced such hits as "The Big Bang Theory," "Two and a Half Men," or "The Kominsky Method," but also had his fair share of missteps. According to some critics and viewers, one of those is the short-lived comedy series "United States of Al," which was created by David Goetsch and Maria Ferrari, with Lorre serving as showrunner and executive producer for the two years the sitcom was on CBS between 2021 and 2022.

The plot focused on the friendship between a Marine war veteran, Riley (Parker Young), and an Afghan interpreter, Awalmir aka Al (Adhir Kalyan), who served together in the same unit while in Afghanistan. Naturally, the show takes place after their service as the two reunite, with Al arriving in the United States to live with Riley and his father, Art (Dean Norris), in Columbus, Ohio. As Al slowly adjusts to the American lifestyle, he grows closer and closer to his friend's family. Soon he learns that his buddy is going through a divorce with his wife Vanessa (Kelli Goss), and from then on, he makes it his goal to help the couple rekindle their love, trying to get them back together, while also serving as an emotional support system for Riley who suffers from PTSD. "Young Sheldon," this show was not.

Regardless of how light-hearted and well-intentioned the show tried to be, it couldn't avoid the minefield that was inherently embedded in its premise. It certainly didn't help that Al was portrayed by a non-Afghan actor (Kalyan was born in South Africa to an Indian-South African family), even if the series featured five additional Afghan characters played by actual Afghan actors beside him, and employed four Afghan writers to help make the narrative more genuine and convincing. But mainly, it was too stereotypical and not funny enough to survive. As critic Diane Gordon wrote, "The show's heart appears to be in the right place. But [...] 'United States of Al's' humor feels cheap and half-hearted." For what it's worth, Hollywood continues to struggle in this arena. 

Thus, it's no surprise that the sitcom's ratings were mostly declining after two seasons, making it hard for CBS to find reasons to keep it on air any longer. So they didn't. In May of 2022, "United States of Al" had been unceremoniously canceled by the network. Although the show's core fan base took the decision to heart and vehemently pleaded for its return, the season 2 finale — which lacked any kind of real closure — likely marked the end of the sitcom forever. It might be little consolation for those who loved the program, but co-creator Maria Ferrari did elaborate in an interview for TV Line on what could've happened in a potential season 3.