By moving it from Tuesday to Friday nights (https://www.fame10.com/entertainment/tv-shows-ruined-by-bad-time-slots/?streamview=all)? What I'm saying is that once John Ritter died, ABC felt that the show was now in a decidedly unsalvageable position. I don't know for sure why ABC didn't cancel the show outright at the end of the second season other than they didn't have much else going for themselves in the sitcom department. Plus, it would've likely been bad PR-wise to cancel a show over something out of the cast and production crew's control (i.e. John Ritter's untimely death).