Cancellation Watch: Syfy’s 12 Monkeys Has Okay Debut, Sleepy Hollow, Helix, Constantine and More are Facing Troubles UPDATED

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10 years ago

Unless otherwise noted, the ratings numbers below are based on the final overnights and may vary slightly from the preliminaries reported on the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site.

Ratings results for the sci fi / fantasy shows airing Firday Jan 16th thru Monday Jan 19th (analysis and metric definitions below):

Updated with Sunday cable ratings:

Constantine NBC Fri 1/16 8 PM
Rating: 0.8 | Tot Viewers (MM): 3.1 | StD Rating: 1.0 | Target: 1.1 | Cancellation Alert: High

This show returns at series low ratings level and its seems almost certainly doomed at this point. (More on this one below).

Grimm NBC Fri 1/16 9 PM
Rating: 1.2 | Tot Viewers (MM): 4.6 | StD Rating: 1.2 | Target: 1.2 | Cancellation Alert: Low

Not a great mid-season premiere for this show, but it’s still holding on well enough for a fourth season Friday entry. But it can’t afford to sink much lower.

12 Monkeys Syfy Fri 1/16 9 PM
Rating: 0.4 | Tot Viewers (MM): 1.4 | StD Rating: 0.4 | Target: 0.4 | Cancellation Alert: Low

That was a less than spectacular debut for this show, but if it can hold here it may have a chance. (More on this one below)

Helix Syfy Fri 1/16 10 PM
Rating: 0.3 | Tot Viewers (MM): 1.0 | StD Rating: 0.3 | Target: 0.4 | Cancellation Alert: Medium

This series was already on tentative ground and these numbers will do nothing to improve its status. (More on this one below)

Once Upon A Time ABC Sun 1/18 8 PM
Rating: On Hiatus | Tot Viewers (MM): n/a | StD Rating: 2.6 | Target: 1.8 | Cancellation Alert: Low

On hiatus until March 1st

Galavant ABC Sun 1/18 8 PM
Rating: 0.9 | Tot Viewers (MM): 3.4 | StD Rating: 1.4 | Target: 1.8 | Cancellation Alert: Elevated

(Numbers based on the preliminaries) It dropped again, and they will be singing the blues on this show soon. (More on this one below)

The Librarians TNT Sun 1/18 8 PM
Rating: 0.7 | Tot Viewers (MM): 3.2 | StD Rating: 0.9 | Target: 1.0 | Cancellation Alert: Low

It slipped to a season low with its finale (it did have to contend with the NFL playoffs), but it has remained in the Top 25 cable shows based on total viewers throughout its first season run. A second season seems likely, but not certain why now announcement has come out yet.

Resurrection ABC Sun 1/18 9 PM
Rating: 0.8 | Tot Viewers (MM): 3.1 | StD Rating: 1.3 | Target: 1.8 | Cancellation Alert: High

(Numbers based on the preliminaries) This show has now dropped to levels that would be marginal on The CW. Don’t expect a resurrection for a third season. (More on this one below)

The Walking Dead AMC Sun 1/18 9 PM
Rating: On Hiatus | Tot Viewers (MM): n/a | StD Rating: 7.5 | Target: 2.0 | Cancellation Alert: Renewed

On hiatus until February 8th.

The Originals CW Mon 1/19 8 PM
Rating: 0.6 | Tot Viewers (MM): 1.5 | StD Rating: 0.6 | Target: 0.7 | Cancellation Alert: Renewed

(Numbers based on the preliminaries) It had decent numbers for its mid-season return and it’s already received its renewal along with all the other Fall CW shows.

Gotham FOX Mon 1/19 8 PM
Rating: 2.2 | Tot Viewers (MM): 6.4 | StD Rating: 2.5 | Target: 1.8 | Cancellation Alert: Low

(Numbers based on the preliminaries) FOX announces the renewal of this show then its numbers drops. That’s gotta make the network execs clinch. But it’s still doing well enough for that struggling network.

Sleepy Hollow FOX Mon 1/19 9 PM
Rating: 1.3 | Tot Viewers (MM): 4.2 | StD Rating: 1.6 | Target: 1.8 | Cancellation Alert: Low

(Numbers based on the preliminaries) It has to rebound from here otherwise FOX may kill it like they did with Almost Human. (More on this one below)

Series Premieres: On Friday, Syfy’s new series 12 Monkeys (based on the Terry Gilliam movie of the same name) had its debut and pulled a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 1.4 million total viewers. Those are okay numbers for a show on Syfy that’s not packing too large of a budget and that level was enough to get Haven and Helix renewed after the 2013-14 season and Defiance and Dominion after their Summer runs. But that 0.4 score also doesn’t give 12 Monkeys much leeway. Shows typically drop after their debut and if this one tracks closer to a 0.3 score (or down at a 0.2 where Haven was in the Fall), then I’m thinking its prospects will not be good. It’s hard to say with only one episode having aired thus far, but I’m sure Syfy would have preferred that this one pull at least a couple of ticks higher that what it had. And with that network’s much-hyped Ascension failing to make much ratings noise in December (it averaged a 0.5 score across its three nights, not great for a heavily promoted “event” series), I’m wondering if the sci fi fanbase is just not buying into Syfy’s alleged return to more heavily science fiction oriented programming. The fans may still have a lack of trust for the network after its previous shift to “sci fi lite” shows like Warehouse 13 and Being Human as well as a heavy dose of reality programming. Case in point, Helix–which is considered part of this new wave–returned for its second season to tepid numbers. It’s season debut could only muster a 0.3 rating with right at one million total viewers. This series seemed like an iffy renewal last year, and unless its numbers improve from its debut, it will almost certainly not see a third season (and I will be starting it out at a Medium Cancellation Alert level). I didn’t even see Syfy’s PR department try to put a positive spin on the ratings for these two premieres, which is a bad sign because networks generally try to pull up some metric to crow about–unless they really tank. A few more weeks of numbers from these two will be telling, but the road definitely appears rocky ahead.

On the Hot Seat: And speaking of struggling shows, FOX’s Sleepy Hollow slipped to a season low on Monday of a 1.3 rating with 4.2 million total viewers (based on the preliminaries). That’s not a good direction as it finishes out its second season (finale is on February 23rd), and it doesn’t help that network execs made some rather chilly comments about it at the TCAs this weekend saying that it needed to become less serialized. I’m not raising the Cancellation Alert Status on this one just yet, because it is still performing relatively well compared to the rest of FOX’s struggling schedule. But it needs to rebound and at least get back up to the 1.5/1.6 level for the rest of its current season. If it stays where it is at now, then the apocalypse may come sooner than expected to the show.

Facing even more trouble is ABC’s Galavant which slipped to a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demo with 3.4 million total viewers (based on the preliminaries). That one premiered a few weeks ago with decent numbers but has tumbled each week and will almost certainly ride off to Neverland (and not one connected to Once Upon A Time) after its finale next week. And sure, ABC always billed this as a “limited” series, but they also built in a continuation plan if the show scores well in the ratings. They don’t have to actually cancel it because of its limited-run status, but that is essentially what will happen. Also on the way out is that network’s Resurrection which slipped to another series low of a 0.7 rating with 3.1 million total viewers. That show’s season finale is this coming Sunday and that will almost certainly act as its series finale. In addition, NBC’s Constantine stumbled with its return from hiatus last Friday as it pulled a series low of a 0.8 rating with 3.1 million total viewers in its new 8 PM EST timeslot. The network already halted production on that show at thirteen episodes, though claimed that a second season was still possible. But at those ratings levels, don’t count on it.

Be sure keep an eye on the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for the latest numbers and any breaking news throughout the week. You can see the status of all the currently airing sci fi / fantasy shows at the Cancellation Watch page. And for more information on where I get these numbers and how I make my Cancellation Alert assessments, check out the Cancelled Sci Fi FAQ.

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Metric Definitions:

Rating: Overnight rating in the 18-49 demographic for same day viewing based on the final numbers unless otherwise noted

Tot Viewers: Estimated total viewers to tune in to the episode for same day viewing

StD Rating: Season to date average for the rating metric tracked above.

Target: The estimated average rating that the show needs to sustain to get renewed.

Cancellation Alert: My prediction of the likelihood that a show will get cancelled. From least to most likely the statuses are Low, Moderate, Medium, Elevated, and High.

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Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers and ShowBuzzDaily