When Freddie Prinze shot himself in the head midway through the third season, I felt the show should have been canceled. Unfortunately, the show limped on until it was axed the following season. Should NBC have canceled Chico and the Man after the death of Freddie Prinze?

Yes, they should've ended the show as soon as Freddie died. They probably only decided to continue because they were trying to get enough episodes for a syndication deal.

Yes indeed it should have ended!!

Agreed, it should have ended.

Yes. The heart of the show was gone. It would never be the same without Freddie.

What they ended up doing for that 4th year was one of the riskiest moves ever made for a sitcom after a tragedy. Not only that but it was the beginning of the "little kids" era of sitcoms that would go for another decade until Silver Spoons and Webster were finally off the air in 1987. A bad precedent had begun with that fateful 4th season and the worst part was that the boy (Gabriel Melgar) got all the blame. He even got a Love Boat credit and appearance in it's first season and after that he was never seen again in the public eye to this very day.

I also believe they should have ended the show and I wonder why they didn't.. Was it due to commitments that had to do with contracts and stuff?
How would producers deal with a similar situation nowadays?

I think the majority of people feel the show should have been cancelled when Freddie died. I, however, am glad they continued. I like season four. It's the weakest season, of course, but I still enjoy it. The only thing I really didn't like was Ed continually referring to Raul as "Chico". Also, how they ignored Chico's absence (and his existence) until mid-way through the season. But those flaws aside, I still like season four.

I can only assume they kept it going for a syndication deal. Four seasons was more likely to be rerun than three. Of course, if that was their reason, it was for nothing as the show didn't have much of a syndication life. I didn't see it myself until 2001 (I was born in 1981), when it aired for a couple years on TV Land. After that, I didn't see it again (save a best of disc and a bootleg DVD) until December 2023, when it came to Tubi.

So, you were born in the same year Jack died.

So, you were born in the same year Jack died.

Yes, but I had nothing to do with it. I swear! ;)

Actually, I just missed him. I was born in December and I believe he died in November.

Yes. The heart of the show was gone. It would never be the same without Freddie.

Ditto.