Expect A Big Change For Sabrina If 'The Mick' Returns For Season 3

The Mick has been chugging along on FOX and will finish up Season 2 on Tuesday night. Will Kaitlin Olson's modern nanny sitcom be back for more? Will The Mick return for Season 3? FOX has not announced a renewal yet, but it's clear that they have faith in the series.

UPDATE: Deadline reports that The Mick has been cancelled.

EARLIER: Not only does TVLine's 2018 Renewal Scorecard place The Mick's return as "a safe bet," the network has proven that they want more. Season 2 was expanded, and seven more episodes were ordered. That makes a Season 3 renewal incredibly likely. It also changed timeslots in Season 2, which is sometimes a cause for concern amongst ratings-hounds, but in this case leading in to Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a perfect, sustainable comedy block on Tuesday nights.

When exactly would Season 3 of The Mick premiere? That's a little more difficult to judge. Season 1 premiered on January 1, 2017, ending in May — and Season 2 premiered in September. If Season 2 was successful enough to warrant more episodes, a fall premiere date would make sense — but it all depends on what FOX has on the docket for 2018.

The only potential hiccough is It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which in August 2016 was renewed for two more seasons. Since Season 13 has not premiered yet, means that Sunny could air well into 2019 and possibly beyond on FXX. While it likely wouldn't cause The Mick to get canceled, working out Olson's shooting schedule for both shows might affect the premiere date.

Also — would Season 3 continue without Sabrina, who might be in college, no longer needing her aunt's guardianship? You can't replace the eldest Pemberton, but the story might require her to disappear off to dorm life for a while. Yale isn't too far away for Connecticut, as Gilmore Girls taught us, but it would be a change, and Sabrina and Mickey's relationship is one of the best on the show.

"One thing that I think we like about them is that we think of them as very similar people but just with different upbringings," said co-showrunner John Chernin in an interview with Den of Geek. "So I love that conversation where Mickey says that she sees herself in Sabrina because I don't think that she would admit that in any other circumstance. I also love that even when they are having this really nice moment Sabrina still can't help but point out that that they are actually different."

In the same interview, co-showrunner Dave Chernin talked about plans for Season 3 regarding Sabrina reaching this milestone. "That's something that we've always talked about," he said. "Since the pilot episode we've said that she's always going to go to Yale and that's kind of barreling down on us right now. We have a couple of ideas that are up in the air. We're not sure how we want to handle it but her high school career is quickly coming to a close."

John and Dave Chernin are also writers on It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. That's both good news and bad news when it comes to a speedy return of The Mick. They may also need to balance a schedule that includes both shows. The good news is that they're committed and Olson is committed. According to The AV Club, Olson is even committed to bringing Glenn Howerton back to Sunny by either talking him into it or blatant trickery.

"I’m not comfortable with comfortable," said Olson in that interview about her comedy. "It’s always much more interesting and fun to keep people on their toes and subvert any storylines that you maybe see coming. Otherwise I would get bored, and I like to do things that make me laugh. It’s the only way I know how to do it."

Hopefully FOX will announce The Mick Season 3 soon enough, so the official waiting can begin and both shows can start subverting expectations to keep fans laughing well into 2019.