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.
Renewal Announcement: Syfy released the news today that their fan-favorite series Haven would be returning for a fifth season of 26 episodes (confirming the rumors from the last couple of days) which will be split into two parts, the first to air in Fall of 2014 and the second in 2015. I have had that series on the bubble for some time and the renewal is definitely an interesting move by the network especially considering the order of double the number of episodes of a typical Syfy season. Despite what their press release said, my tracking has the show down year over year in the 18-49 demographic based on the overnights (they are apparently throwing in DVR viewing to pad their stats). More importantly, though, is the fact that Syfy highlighted the show’s strong presence on the social networks as a notable accomplishment. That may very well have been a strong driving force in the renewal of NBC’s Hannibal last season and appears to have factored into the decision-making for Haven. We haven’t seen too much emphasis on the importance of social network activity prior to these two shows, but that could start to become more of a deciding factor moving forward. It may also be that Syfy has had to lower its ratings threshold this season because all of their shows have been lagging of late. This is the first time I have seen them renew a series that averaged only a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic based on the overnights (not including imports like Lost Girl and Continuum), and just last Fall Syfy announced a final shortened season of Warehouse 13 to air this year after that show sunk to a series low 0.5 rating based on the overnights in Summer 2013. Haven does appear to be a lower cost show than some of the other entries on Syfy, so that could have factored in as well. But production costs do tend to go up the longer a show is on the air, so it can’t be too cheap at this point. The 26 episode order appears to be intended to pad out the total ep count to prep the show for a syndication run, though that’s still going to put it ten short of the typical 88 episode threshold. In any case, Haven could be pointing to some changes in network renewal/cancel decisions and it will be interesting to track the fall-out from this move (if any).
On the Hot Seat: NBC’s Dracula ended its ten episode run with a slight improvement in its ratings to a 1.0 score in the 18-49 demo with thee million total viewers. That has it higher than where NBC’s Hannibal was when it wrapped up last season and that one got renewed, so Dracula still has a slight chance. But it didn’t seem to have quite the social network following as Hannibal and I’m thinking it’s highly unlikely the network will take a flyer on a second round of Dracula eps. ABC’s The Neighbors matched its series low on Friday of a 0.8 rating with 3.8 million total viewers. That one is likely just airing out its episodes at this point. Syfy’s Helix pulled another 0.4 rating on Friday with 1.4 million total viewers. Based on the Haven renewal announcement, maybe that’s not as bad as I previously thought and I will be taking this one off the hot seat for now, though it won’t be far away and has very little leeway for slippage. New CBS entry Intelligence improved to a 1.5 rating on Monday with 6.8 million total viewers, it’s best numbers yet in that timeslot. If it can get its rating up a few more ticks, that show might work its way off the hot seat as well. The CW’s Beauty and the Beast pulled another 0.3 score with only 800k total viewers as that one is almost certainly headed to a second season cancellation.
And I have to call out FOX again for their mistreatment of Almost Human. Preempting the show last week for the two-hour finale of Sleepy Hollow was at least understandable even if it was unfortunate timing considering the upswing that AH enjoyed with its first two 2014 episodes. But the show was preempted this Monday for a repeat of The Following which only pulled a measly 1.1 rating in the 18-49 demo (AH had a 2.0 for its last airing). The two week absence will almost certainly lead to a dip in Almost Human’s ratings upon its return next week and definitely stifled the momentum the show seemed to be building. FOX’s scheduling has seriously hampered this show thus far in its first season and fans have reason to be annoyed with the network.
Other Ratings News: MTV’s Teen Wolf held steady on Monday at a 0.8 rating in the 18-49 demo with 1.9 million total viewers as that one continues to do well for that network during its first regular season run. Being Human remained at a 0.4 rating with 1.1 million total viewers which–based on the Haven renewal–appears good enough for Syfy these days. NBC’s Grimm held steady at a 1.5 rating on Friday with 5.9 million total viewers. That broke the show’s pattern of up and down ratings scores, even though that wasn’t really hurting it as it has averaged a 1.5 rating this season, decent enough for a third season Friday series. And on Thursday, The CW’s Vampire Diaries returned from hiatus and enjoyed its best numbers in a while as it pulled a 1.2 rating with 2.7 million total viewers. That show is on track for renewal along with other CW entries The Originals, Supernatural, and Arrow.
Keep an eye on the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for the early numbers from the rest of this week’s sci fi / fantasy shows. You can see the current status for all this season’s genre shows at this link, and for more information on the ratings numbers and how I determine the Cancellation Alert status of a show, see the Cancelled Sci Fi FAQ.
Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers
Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2013 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
