The fifth and final season of The New Adventures of Old Christine was renewed on April 22, 2009 and announcing in May to be the final season that premiered on CBS on Wednesday nights at 8:00 PM on September 23, 2009 and concluded on May 12, 2010. It consisted of 21 episodes.
In this season, following Barb's arrest she is rescued by Christine, Matthew and new boyfriend Dave. While Richard tries to win New Christine back, he temporarily moves into a new apartment with Matthew. Christine begins going to therapy, but she is attracted to her therapist, Max. They eventually abandon Christine's therapy and strike up a relationship instead. New Christine announces that she is pregnant, causing Richard to rekindle his relationship with her and New Christine eventually gives birth to a baby girl. Meanwhile, Barb becomes engaged to a reluctant Dave. At the conclusion of the season, Christine also becomes engaged to Max, but she feels intimidated by his very educated friends so she decides to return to college. On May 18, 2010, CBS announced that the series would not be brought back for a 6th season.
This season earned two Emmy Award nominations: one for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Louis-Dreyfus, and one for Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series.
Cancellation
The early ratings for the fifth season were lower than previous seasons, but the 14th episode of the season reached 8.3 million viewers, the highest viewership the show had received in the Wednesday night timeslot. While the future of the show was uncertain at CBS, ABC had shown interest in the series on several occasions, and on May 3, 2010, Deadline Hollywood reported that ABC was in negotiations with Warner Bros. to pick up Old Christine, should CBS cancel it. On May 18, 2010, CBS canceled Old Christine. There was speculation that ABC would pick up the show, but the negotiations between Warner Brothers and ABC were slow. In June 2010, Deadline Hollywood reported that ABC were no longer interested in picking up the show. Upon CBS cancelling the show, creator Kari Lizer slammed the network and suggested the decision to cancel the show was sexist.
Cast and characters
Main
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as "Old" Christine Campbell
Clark Gregg as Richard Campbell
Hamish Linklater as Matthew Kimble
Trevor Gagnon as Ritchie Campbell
Emily Rutherfurd as "New" Christine Hunter
Tricia O'Kelley and Alex Kapp Horner as Marly Ehrhardt and Lindsay (a.k.a. "The Meanie Moms") Wanda Sykes as Barbara 'Barb' Baran