Show

Keepers is an American comedy series that originally aired on CBS. The series follows a large ensemble cast of employees at the Milwaukee Zoo, focusing on the several zoo keepers and their personal lives.

History
On June 20, 2015, CBS announced that it had greenlit a new series about zoo keepers. The series, Keepers, was officially announced with a 10-episode order on August 18.

At the upfronts, it was revealed that Keepers would air as a midseason replacement in 2016, airing on Tuesdays. The series premiered on January 12, 2016, and the first season ended on March 15. Keepers, which was a ratings success, was renewed for a second season on March 20.

The second season of 22 episodes premiered on September 20, 2016, and ended on March 28, 2017. This season was critically praised for its humor and held steady ratings. The show was renewed for a 20-episode third season on April 2, 2017.

On May 19, 2017, CBS reduced the third season order to 17 episodes. The season premiered on September 19, 2017 and ended on March 13, 2018. Ratings declined steeply for this season, and was unfavorable by critics. CBS renewed Keepers for a 12-episode fourth season on May 7.

The fourth season aired as a midseason replacement in 2019 from January 8 to March 12. It was a ratings flop, and critically panned. One critic said: "Keepers, which struck gold in its hay day, has officially jumped the shark," when discussing the 12th episode of Season 4, in which five of the main characters are maimed and killed by an escaped lion.

On April 11, 2019, CBS cancelled the series. However, the show's "hysterically bad" fourth season had begun to gather a cult following due to its absurdity. Because of this, TV Land purchased the series and renewed it for a 20-episode fifth season on June 17.

Season 5 featured a mostly new cast and was more favorable to critics, premiering October 24, 2019 and ending April 2, 2020. On March 9, TV Land renewed the series for a 22-episode sixth season.

Season 6 premiered on September 10, 2020, and ended on April 8, 2021. Though the series had minimal ratings, it pleased critics.

TV Land renewed Keepers for a seventh season of 16 episodes on April 15, and soon after confirmed that it would be the final season. In July, TV Land announced that the final 16 episodes would be split into two seasons of 8 episodes each.

Season 7 was a midseason replacement in 2022.

Season 8 was a midseason replacement in 2023, and ended the series.