Cancellation Watch Breaking News: Syfy Renews 12 Monkeys for a Third Season

Yesterday we heard that AMC’s Preacher will be coming back for a second season, and later in the day an announcement slipped through that Syfy’s 12 Monkeys, based on the Terry Gilliam movie of the same name, will continue on into a third year. The first announcement was not a huge surprise and I go into that in more detail at this link. The 12 Monkeys renewal, though, was definitely not a sure thing as it has struggled mightily in the ratings during its second year. Never a strong performer when it first bowed, that show has dropped to a 0.11 ratings average based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic (vs. a 0.20 average in Season 1) and it has not seen much in the way of delayed viewing gains. But Syfy considers this one of their premiere shows as the network tries to shift back to more heavily science fiction oriented programming and apparently they have decided to stick with it for now. The cabler has been pushing online viewing for its shows and its possible that 12 Monkeys has scored better in the digital platform (though Syfy has not shared those numbers). It could also have international financing / partnerships backing it that could help defer production and make it more affordable for the network. The show has received decent buzz among the sci fi community, even if it hasn’t seemed to have attracted much of an audience. But at this point, fans can feel assured in knowing that the show will be back for at least one more season, though it will only have ten episodes vs. the thirteen Seasons 1 and 2 had.

Syfy currently has two other Spring entries, Wynonna Earp and Hunters, awaiting word on their fate and other shows like Freeform’s Stitchers are also currently in a holding pattern.  Keep a close eye on this site as well as theCancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site as I expect some breaking news on these in the coming weeks.