# DMV (TV series)
**DMV** is an American single-camera workplace comedy that aired on CBS from October 13, 2025, to May 11, 2026. Set at a chaotic East Hollywood branch of the Department of Motor Vehicles, it follows a crew of minimum-wage employees who deal with annoyed customers and with each other. The series was created by Dana Klein, based on the short story "Chicken-Flavored and Lemon Scented" by Katherine Heiny, and was canceled after one season of 20 episodes.[1](https://paramountglobalcontent.com/title/dmv) • [2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/dmv) • [3](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/78789/dmv) • [4](https://www.tvline.com/2134029/dmv-canceled-no-season-2-cbs/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and format | CBS, single-camera comedy, 30-minute episodes scheduled Mondays at 8:30 pm[1](https://paramountglobalcontent.com/title/dmv) • [3](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/78789/dmv) |
| Run | Premiered October 13, 2025; canceled March 27, 2026; series finale "Impact Will Be Felt" aired May 11, 2026[1](https://paramountglobalcontent.com/title/dmv) • [4](https://www.tvline.com/2134029/dmv-canceled-no-season-2-cbs/) |
| Episodes | 20, all in season one[1](https://paramountglobalcontent.com/title/dmv) |
| Source material | Based on Katherine Heiny's short story "Chicken-Flavored and Lemon Scented"[2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/dmv) |
| Main cast | Harriet Dyer (Colette), Tim Meadows (Gregg), Tony Cavalero (Vic), Molly Kearney (Barbara), Alex Tarrant (Noa), Gigi Zumbado (Ceci)[1](https://paramountglobalcontent.com/title/dmv) |
| Critical scores | 65% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (17 reviews); Metascore 53 on Metacritic; 6.2/10 on IMDb[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/dmv) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/dmv/critic-reviews/) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33078075/ratings/) |
| Rating | TV-14[8](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/dmv/umc.cmc.512lxuhjrzc9kr2uz4jnm352p) |
## Premise and characters
The show is set at the East Hollywood office of the Department of Motor Vehicles, a place the official description calls the one "everyone dreads going most," where employees earn minimum wage serving customers who are annoyed before they even walk in the door.[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/78789/dmv) • [8](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/dmv/umc.cmc.512lxuhjrzc9kr2uz4jnm352p) The ensemble consists of six regulars:[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/dmv)
- **Colette** ([Harriet Dyer](https://www.edgepedia.org/harriet-dyer)), a driving examiner with a big heart and bad boundaries, who pines for her coworker Noa in the early episodes.
- **Gregg** ([Tim Meadows](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-meadows)), a misanthropic former English teacher.
- **Vic** (Tony Cavalero), a former bouncer who enjoys putting difficult drivers in their places.
- **Barbara** (Molly Kearney), a newly promoted manager who tries hard but often misses the mark.
- **Noa** (Alex Tarrant), a charming surfer who seems destined for greater things.
- **Ceci** ([Gigi Zumbado](https://www.edgepedia.org/gigi-zumbado)), a scrappy photographer unafraid to speak her mind.
Early episodes center on Colette's crush on Noa; the season finale, "Impact Will Be Felt," brings an office celebration, unresolved feelings, and shifts in workplace power to a head.[8](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/dmv/umc.cmc.512lxuhjrzc9kr2uz4jnm352p) • [3](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/78789/dmv)
## Production
Dana Klein, whose credits include *Friends* and *Fresh Off the Boat*, created the series and served as an executive producer alongside Matt Kuhn, Aaron Kaplan, Wendi Trilling, and Robyn Meisinger; Trent O'Donnell is also credited as a producer.[4](https://www.tvline.com/2134029/dmv-canceled-no-season-2-cbs/) • [1](https://paramountglobalcontent.com/title/dmv) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/dmv) The series was picked up by CBS after testing and screening well with audiences, per Deadline.[9](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/only-one-new-network-comedy-premiering-this-fall-and-actually-want-to-watch-it) Klein said she came up with the idea while sitting in a DMV waiting room, deciding it was "the perfect setting for a workplace comedy" and that a show about people working at a notoriously despised place interested her.[10](https://locable-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/resource/file/1251287/DIV-10-31-2025.pdf?timestamp=1761841214)
DMV was one of only two freshman sitcoms on network television in fall 2025, the other being NBC's *Stumble*.[11](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/nbcs-new-comedy-lineup-cheerleading-mockumentary-stumble-happys-place-showrunners-thrilled-reba-mcentire) Episodes stream on [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) the day after broadcast for some subscribers.[12](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=111911-paramount-announces-new-animated-series-avatar-seven-havens-at-comic-con)
## Reception
Critics gave the season mixed-to-moderately-positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes the season holds a 65% Tomatometer from 17 reviews and a 60% audience score; Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 53, based on 11 critic reviews, categorized as mixed or average.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/dmv) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/dmv/critic-reviews/) Reviewers singled out the cast: the *Boston Globe* wrote that the show "has a snappy pace, and Meadows, Dyer, and Kearney all pass with flying colors," while RogerEbert.com's Brian Tallerico praised its "confidence after only four episodes."[6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/dmv/critic-reviews/) More negative reviews found the jokes recycled or telegraphed.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/dmv/critic-reviews/) IMDb users rated the series 6.2 out of 10 from about 3,300 votes.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33078075/ratings/)
## Cancellation
CBS canceled DMV on March 27, 2026, with five episodes left in the season; the May 11 season finale became the series finale.[4](https://www.tvline.com/2134029/dmv-canceled-no-season-2-cbs/) The medical drama *Watson* was canceled at the same time. Despite the cancellation, a [Variety](https://www.edgepedia.org/variety-magazine) report cited by [The Daily Beast](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-daily-beast) placed DMV among the Top 100 Broadcast/Cable/Streaming Shows of 2025-26 for total multi-platform viewership, and one December 2025 broadcast week had the show drawing 10.1 million MP+35 viewers (A Nielsen ratings metric counting viewers across many platforms), tying *NCIS* and finishing just behind *Elsbeth* across broadcast.[13](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/cbs-quietly-canceled-more-of-its-most-watched-shows/) • [14](https://www.thetvratingsguide.com/2025/12/cbs-renewcancel-week-8-dmv-may-get-to.html?m=0) Trade reporting attributed the decision to the show's standing as one of CBS's lowest-rated series and to the network's confidence in its comedy pilots for the 2026-27 season.[15](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/cbs-cancelling-dmv-more-painful-now-that-end-date-in-sight) • [16](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/dmv-cancelled-no-season-two-renewal-for-cbs-sitcom/)
## References
1. [DMV, Paramount Global Content](https://paramountglobalcontent.com/title/dmv)
2. [DMV: Parents' Guide & TV Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/dmv)
3. [DMV, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/78789/dmv)
4. [DMV Canceled After Just One Season At CBS, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/2134029/dmv-canceled-no-season-2-cbs/)
5. [DMV | Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/dmv)
6. [DMV critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/dmv/critic-reviews/)
7. [DMV (TV Series 2025–2026) Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33078075/ratings/)
8. [DMV, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/dmv/umc.cmc.512lxuhjrzc9kr2uz4jnm352p)
9. [There's Only One New Network Comedy Premiering This Fall So Far, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/only-one-new-network-comedy-premiering-this-fall-and-actually-want-to-watch-it)
10. [Dixon Independent Voice, October 31, 2025](https://locable-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/resource/file/1251287/DIV-10-31-2025.pdf?timestamp=1761841214)
11. [NBC's New Comedy Lineup interview, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/nbcs-new-comedy-lineup-cheerleading-mockumentary-stumble-happys-place-showrunners-thrilled-reba-mcentire)
12. [Paramount Press Express, DMV episode listing](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=111911-paramount-announces-new-animated-series-avatar-seven-havens-at-comic-con)
13. [CBS Also Canceled Top-Rated Shows 'Watson' and 'DMV', The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/cbs-quietly-canceled-more-of-its-most-watched-shows/)
14. [CBS Renew/Cancel Week 8: DMV May Get to Renew Its Drivers License, The TV Ratings Guide](https://www.thetvratingsguide.com/2025/12/cbs-renewcancel-week-8-dmv-may-get-to.html?m=0)
15. [CBS Cancelling DMV Feels A Lot More Painful Now That The End Date Is In Sight, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/cbs-cancelling-dmv-more-painful-now-that-end-date-in-sight)
16. [DMV: Cancelled; No Season Two Renewal for CBS Sitcom, TV Series Finale](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/dmv-cancelled-no-season-two-renewal-for-cbs-sitcom/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Sitcom and comedy series › Workplace comedy series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license