Cancellation Watch: CBS Cancels Angel from Hell; Can Sleepy Hollow Survive on Fridays Like Fringe Did? Plus the Full Ratings Roundup

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.

CBS announced late yesterday that freshman (ostensibly) supernatural comedy Angel from Hell has been cancelled after five episodes and will be pulled from the schedule. That news comes as a bit of a surprise because while it hasn’t been a great performer thus far, it also hasn’t crashed and burned in its Thursday 9 PM EST timeslot. I have had it at a Moderate Cancellation alert level since its second episode, and while it has only averaged a 1.4 rating based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic, that’s just a couple of ticks below the network’s 1.6 average for non-sports, non-special, non-repeat programming since the beginning of January. And sitcoms can generally survive with lower ratings because they are less expensive to produce. Angel from Hell hasn’t shown strong DVR gains for the few episodes that data is available for, but it is just getting started off. I have commented regularly, though, that CBS has little patience for what it considers to be under-performing shows, especially genre entries, and this seems to prove that out. The networks have been squeamish about cancelling shows this season, especially this quickly, but CBS apparently decided this one wasn’t pulling it s weight (it was regularly the lowest rated segment in that net’s two hour Thursday comedy block) and called in the Network Executioner to dispatch it. Deadline Hollywood did mention that the show had some behind the scenes troubles (it was delayed from a November start to January) and that CBS has a pretty packed schedule at the moment that they are trying to get ironed out (that can’t even find time to get the fifth season of Person of Interest on the air). This doesn’t bode well for Limitless which is only performing one tick better than Angel from Hell at a 1.5 rating, and it is a more expensive series to produce. And you also have to wonder about Supergirl (certainly a costly entry) which is currently averaging a 1.8 rating, though that one is a high profile series and may get a little extra leeway. But this definitely shows that it does not pay to be a genre entry on CBS (Person of Interest is almost definitely headed into its final season, by the way), and we will have to keep a close eye on how Limitless and Supergirl are performing over the coming weeks and months.

This past Friday, Sleepy Hollow returned from hiatus on its new night and saw it ratings improve from its last Fall episode as the show pulled a 0.9 rating based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic with 3.1 million total viewers. That was up one tick from the 0.8 score the show had for its Fall finale and that improvement came on what is typically a low viewership night. So at first glance this looks like good news for the show and I’m sure fans will point to the fact that previous FOX series Fringe survived on Fridays starting from midway in its third season through to its fifth. If one cult series managed to survive on Friday nights, why couldn’t another, I’m sure they would ask. The problem with this thinking, though, is the fact that Fringe had more episodes under its belt by midway through its third season whereas Sleepy Hollow is coming up short because of its “limited run” episode orders. Fringe had a full season order for its third year that would get it to 65 episodes. Another full season would get it just one episode short of the 88 threshold that the syndication market prefers, but still close enough to the finish line. Thus it made economical sense for the studio to keep the series on the air in order to extend its life syndication where shows finally start to make a profit. And Fringe actually kept going another half season to bring it to a healthier 100 total episodes and to allow it to wrap up all its storylines. Sleepy Hollow has unfortunately had limited episode orders for its first three seasons and will only be at 45 total when it wraps up this year. That’s only half way to the finish line and likely too far to go for a low-rated show. So while the uptick in the show’s numbers on Friday was encouraging, it’s not nearly enough at this point to convince FOX (which has already appeared to have given up on it) that it is a good option to plug up Friday nights going forward. Especially not when much cheaper reality shows like Masterchef Junior and Hell’s Kitchen were pulling better numbers on the night. At this point I still consider Sleepy Hollow to likely be at the end of its rope, but fans could try to make some noise and see if they can convince FOX to give it one more chance.

In breaking announcements last week, we received word that USA’s Colony will be returning for a second season. And I covered the ratings results for the early week shows plus the broadcast network and cable scorecards at this link.

Ratings results for the sci fi / fantasy shows airing Monday February 1st thru Sunday February 7th (metric definitions below):

(Updated for the broadcast network and cable Top 25 chart activity)

On hiatus, returns February 29th.

This score won’t cut it for such an expensive show airing on a network with little patience, especially for genre entries (as you can see from the fate of Angel from Hell above). This may just be a blip because it has doing well so far in 2016, but I believe it needs to hold at its season to date average of a 1.8 rating (based on the overnights) if it wants to be considered safe for a second season renewal.

Chart Activity: This show was at Number 21 in the broadcast network Top 25 based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic (down from Number 11) and it slipped out of the Top 25 based on total viewers (previously at Number 15).

It dropped from the prior week, but it is still performing well above most the other offerings across the broadcast nets these days. I’m sure that FOX is working hard to secure another “limited run” of this revival for next season’s schedule.

Chart Activity: This show slipped out of the Weekly Nielsen Twitter Ratings, it was at Number 7 the prior week. It was at Number 6 in the broadcast network Top 25 based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic (down from Number 2) and it was at Number 11 based on total viewers (down from Number 6).

It slipped, but these are still excellent numbers for a broadcast network series these days. The key will be how well it holds up without The X-Files as its lead-in starting February 29th.

Chart Activity: This show was at Number 13 in the broadcast network Top 25 based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic (down from Number 4) and it fell out of the Top 25 based on total viewers (previously at Number 24).

It slipped a little bit, but these are still good numbers for Syfy and the network went ahead and gave this one the second season nod.

Not great numbers for this show’s return, but it is on its final eight episodes anyway.

The epitome of consistency this season, a third season is just a rubberstamp away at this point.

Chart Activity: This show held on int the broadcast network Top 25 based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic at the Number 25 slot (down from Number 22).

Not good numbers for this show and I have raised it now to a Medium Cancellation Alert level. I go more into the scenarios for its future at this link.

On hiatus, returns March 8th. And I look at the possible scenarios for its future at this link.

The numbers still are not looking great for this show. The network execs have plenty of good things to say about it, but they also have a crowded schedule with plenty of development in the pipeline, so I wonder if they will find room for this one in next season’s lineup.

It slipped just a bit but it is still looking good for its network.

This show improved slightly and it has already been renewed for a sixth season.

This one finally returns with a new episode tonight. But unless its numbers improve, it will see its Cancellation Alert level rise based on the fact that Angel from Hell got the ax (see above) with only slightly lower ratings.

It numbers slipped a bit, but I still believe that international financing will carry this one into a second season.

It slipped for its finale (in linear viewing at least), but it has already been renewed for a second season. And it continues to get good buzz around the sci fi community, so perhaps that will translate into higher viewership when it returns.

This show slipped from the prior week, but it has no worries. A fifth season is all but guaranteed at this point.

It continues to chug along with decent numbers for The CW and a twelfth season will happen as long as the cast and crew are up for it.

It held mostly steady and it has already been renewed for a third season.

This show slipped, but it is still pulling decent numbers for a CW entry. A second season might come in a different, lest costly format, though, because this show is so expensive to produce.

This show comes as part of an international partnership with the British Sky channel and doesn’t need great ratings to survive. But these numbers are pretty low, so I consider it iffy at best at the moment.

It held steady with last week and I believe it needs to keep from slipping any lower if it wants a place on The CW’s crowded 2016-17 schedule.

It held steady with the prior week, but CBS apparently does not like what it has been seeing and they cancelled it. More on that above.

Chart Activity: This show was tied for the Number 24 slot in the broadcast network Top 25 based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic based on the way TV by the Numbers displays the rankings which actually put it at Number 29 the way I interpret the results (total viewers determines secondary ranking). But that means that CBS cancelled a Top 30 (or Top 25 according to TVbtN) performing show.

It slipped just a bit from the prior week, but also received word that it will be continuing on for a second season. More on that at this link.

It slipped one tick from the prior week, but it’s still doing well enough for a CW Friday entry and I believe it gets one more final season to wrap up all its storylines.

Its mid-season return delivered slightly higher ratings than its Fall finale and on a low viewership night. But I still believe FOX has already written this one off. More on that above.

It held steady with the prior week and its third season show status should carry it into a fourth (though possibly final) year.

It’s numbers slipped further as it bides its time on Friday nights before heading to the Network Executioner.

It improved slightly, but I still believe this one is likely in its final season.

Ratings results pending.

Season ended. Awaiting word on a third season renewal.

On hiatus, returns March 6th.

On hiatus, returns February 14th.

On hiatus, but it has finally received a return date of March 6th.

Be sure keep an eye out for the latest numbers and any breaking news throughout the week at the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site. You can see the status of all the currently airing sci fi / fantasy shows at the Cancellation Watch page and also the latest Sci Fi TV Power Rankings post. 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

% Chng PW: The percentage change +/- for this week’s rating vs. last week’s rating.

Tot Viewers: Estimated total viewers (age 2+) to tune in to the episode for same day viewing.

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

Net Avg: The season to date average rating for the network for non-sports programming and non-repeats. This data is available for the broadcast networks only.

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.