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 Tuesday 7/1 through Monday 7/7:
Ratings Results: The numbers were running late this week because of the holiday, but what finally did come in did not look that great for sci fi / fantasy shows. On Monday, CBS entry Under the Dome fell to a series low of a 1.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 7.7 million total viewers. That’s not a disastrous drop for the show and it should stay in the Top 10 for the week, but last Summer’s celebrated breakout hit has surely fallen on hard times this year after its low Season 2 debut and this subsequent drop. The good news for the show is that CBS has worked out a deal with Amazon that gives that service exclusive rights to stream both Under the Dome and new entry Extant a few days after they air live. This could help keep UtD alive in the face of sinking ratings, and the fact is that its numbers are still pretty decent for a Summer entry. If they slip much further, though, CBS could be rethinking the show’s fate. But consider it safe for now. Most of the other sci fi / fantasy entries for the past few days either slipped or remained low, and I look at each of them individually a little further below.
On the Hot Seat: For a second week in a row, Syfy’s two Summer entries Defiance and Dominion pulled 0.4 ratings scores and that has me raising their Cancellation Alert to Moderate. It’s true that Helix and Haven survived this past season while pulling numbers at that level, but both of those are less expensive entries. I’m guessing that Syfy would prefer to see a 0.6 rating or higher out of their two Summer shows, though they might let them get by if they don’t go lower than a 0.4 score. But I can assure you that they are not pleased with those numbers.
Renewal Announcement (Maybe): And the renewal of MTV’s Teen Wolf has been announced by . . . the California Tax Office? It’s true that they have indicated that the supernatural series will get tax credits for shooting its fifth season in and around the LA area, so it looks like that show is set for another year. Of course that doesn’t mean that MTV is committed to a Season 5, just that they are doing the initial planning. But I’d say that a fifth year is pretty much a given at this point for this show which continues to pull numbers that are good for its network and also creates a measurable stir across the social networks each week. True, its Summer ratings haven’t been as good as its early 2014 run, but it’s still doing well for MTV and likely has several more years of life ahead of it.
Following are the full results* with my comments and keep an eye on the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for the latest numbers and any breaking news.
The Wil Wheaton Project 7/1 Syfy Tue 10 PM
Rating: 0.2 | Tot Viewers: 0.3 | StD Rating: 0.2 | Target: n/a | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
Still not drawing a ton of viewers, but clips from the show regularly make the rounds on the internet.
Defiance 7/3 Syfy Thu 8 PM
Rating: 0.4 | Tot Viewers: 1.5 | StD Rating: 0.5 | Target: 0.6 | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
Maybe revenue from the online game will help keep this one alive? But that doesn’t seem to have been a huge hit either.
Dominion 7/3 Syfy Thu 9 PM
Rating: 0.4 | Tot Viewers: 1.7 | StD Rating: 0.5 | Target: 0.6 | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
This one may be needing some help from above if it wants to make it to a second season.
True Blood 7/6 HBO Sun 9 PM
Rating: 1.7 | Tot Viewers: 3.2 | StD Rating: 1.8 | Target: 1.5 | Cancellation Alert: Final Season
Up slightly from last week, and it did win the night among cable shows. But still, it’s down noticeably from last season. Looks like this one may not go out on a high note.
Witches of East End 7/6 LIFE Sun 9 PM
Rating: 0.5 | Tot Viewers: 0.8 | StD Rating: 0.5 | Target: 1.1 | Cancellation Alert: Renewed
That 0.5 score may still be okay for Lifetime, but it’s the lowest this show has been thus far. It doesn’t help that it has a fair amount of competition from other genre shows in the same timeslot.
The Last Ship 7/6 TNT Sun 9 PM
Rating: 1.0 | Tot Viewers: 4.1 | StD Rating: 1.1 | Target: 1.0 | Cancellation Alert: Low
Another drop in its numbers, but not much. If it levels out then it should be okay.
The Leftovers 7/6 HBO Sun 10 PM
Rating: 0.7 | Tot Viewers: 1.6 | StD Rating: 0.8 | Target: 1.0 | Cancellation Alert: Low
A slip from its debut. HBO execs weren’t expecting this one to be another Game of Thrones were they?
Falling Skies 7/6 TNT Sun 10 PM
Rating: 0.8 | Tot Viewers: 2.8 | StD Rating: 0.9 | Target: 1.0 | Cancellation Alert: Low
Its numbers are pretty low and this isn’t a cheap show to produce. Will TNT waver on a fifth season?
Beauty and the Beast 7/7 CW Mon 9 PM
Rating: 0.3 | Tot Viewers: 0.8 | StD Rating: 0.3 | Target: 1.0 | Cancellation Alert: Renewed
It wraps up its second season pretty much right where it started. Does it become a Summer series next year?
Under The Dome 7/7 CBS Mon 10 PM
Rating: 1.7 | Tot Viewers: 7.7 | StD Rating: 1.9 | Target: 1.6 | Cancellation Alert: Low
That was quite a drop from last week, but the Amazon deal (mentioned above) should help out. If its numbers keep dropping, could it find itself in trouble?
Teen Wolf 7/7 MTV Mon 10 PM
Rating: 0.7 | Tot Viewers: 1.6 | StD Rating: 0.8 | Target: 0.8 | Cancellation Alert: Low
This show is still doing well in the Twitter charts and that alone can keep it alive for a while.
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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 The Futon Critic
Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2014 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
