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: I had MTV’s Teen Wolf at the top of my Summer Power Rankings and for good reason. Even though that show’s numbers have dropped a bit this Summer, I knew that it was a likely candidate for renewal based on its mostly successful run and strong presence in the social networks. Plus, we already had a hint that a fifth season was on the way and MTV made the official announcement yesterday, queuing up a twenty episode fifth year which will air in two parts similar to TW‘s third season. If the show’s numbers continue to drop, it’s possible the network will consider wrapping it up at the end of its next season, as the current episode order will bring the total count to 80 which is very close to the number that the syndication markets prefer. But no need to be a doomsayer just yet as the Summer ratings dip has not been too bad and the show still generates a lot of buzz on Twitter each week (a measure which is becoming more and more important for television shows). For now, know that Teen Wolf is good for another year and could quite possibly continue beyond that.
On the Hot Seat: CBS series Extant saw a notable drop in its ratings this past Wednesday as that show slipped to a 1.1. score in the 18-49 demographic with 6.5 million total viewers. That’s a 27% drop in the show’s rating from the prior week and not good news. True, Amazon is picking up part of the production costs of the show in exchange for exclusive streaming rights, so the overnight ratings are not the only factor dictating its fate. But CBS has made commitments to its sponsors with pre-set ratings levels, and Extant is almost certainly not performing up to what the network promised (especially with Halle Berry and Steven Spielberg attached). I am raising the cancellation alert on this one to Moderate, and it will raise again next week if its numbers do not improve. I’m thinking at this point that CBS will not be interested in bringing this show back for a second season (and could be thinking long and hard about Under the Dome as well), and its renewal will hinge heavily on Amazon deciding to keep it alive as part of their original programming. Watch the numbers closely over the coming weeks to see if Extant manages to regain some of its early audience.
Not Quite Cancelled Yet: NBC’s pirate series Crossbones may not count as sci fi (or even fantasy), but it does have some genre appeal. And that network’s recent scheduling move with the series indicates that they will be sending it to walk the plank. The last two episodes have been pulled from its regular Friday night timeslot and will air together on Saturday August 2nd. That effectively acts as a burnoff of the show that has never delivered great ratings numbers. But then I’m not certain what the network expected seeing as they scheduled on Fridays at 10 PM EST, a typically low viewership hour and even lower in Summer when the ratings in general are down. But fans of the show need not panic just yet as Crossbones comes from the same producers as Siberia and they likely still own the rights to it. And if it performs well internationally then they may chose to keep it going for a second season and shop it around to other venues. There are still talks of a second season of last Summer’s Siberia despite the fact that it also performed poorly on NBC. And if the production company has confidence in Crossbones, they may greenlight a second season that will air on another network or one of the streaming services. Keep an eye on this site in the coming months for any news concerning the show (and Siberia as well).
Last night’s numbers for Syfy’s Defiance and Dominion should be available later today or tomorrow morning. I will get those posted on the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site when they are available as well as any other breaking news.
Ratings Source: TV by the Numbers
Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2014 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
