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 Friday through Monday sci fi / fantasy shows:
Ratings News of Note: ABC’s late season entry Resurrection had a notable ratings drop with its second episode, but it’s still in good shape for now. This last Sunday’s airing pulled a 3.1 score in the 18-49 demographic (down from the prior week’s 3.8) with 11.3 million total viewers. That’s an 18% decline from the show’s premiere, but it’s still at a pretty good level, especially on Sunday night where the broadcast networks have struggled of late. It improved upon its lead-in from Once Upon A Time by 29% and it drew 11.3 million total viewers (only 1.6 million short of The Walking Dead‘s total). Plus, it was the highest rated show on the broadcast networks for the evening. It did drop further than I expected it to, but not to a dangerous level. Expect a further decline next week (that is the typical trend), but not by as much of a margin. And if this one can stay at or above the low 2’s, then there’s a very good chance it will come back for a second season.
Not as lucky was NBC’s late season entry Believe which saw a much further drop in its numbers for its second episode. That one could only pull a 1.5 score with 6.6 million total viewers as it had to vacate the cushy post-The Voice timeslot where it debuted and move into the treacherous Sunday 9 PM EST hour. There it has to contend with the highest rated scripted series on television (The Walking Dead) as well as ABC’s upstart Resurrection and FOX’s limited series entry Cosmos, and it lagged behind all of those. Its ratings dropped 87% from its premiere episode, but what did NBC expect with this scheduling move? If you believe their spin department, then the show did relatively well for its first Sunday airing. But I rarely believe the network spin doctors, so I will likely be moving this one to bubble status very shortly. I want to see the numbers for one more Sunday episode before making my final verdict, but I’m thinking this one is looking at an uncertain future at this point.
On the Hot Seat: The Tomorrow People had its Monday debut, and the numbers weren’t as bad as they could have been, but they weren’t very good either. That episode was even with its last new Wednesday airing, pulling a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 1.2 million total viewers. On the bright side, that’s better than Beauty and the Beast was previously doing in the hour, but then that’s not saying much (repeats of Dora the Explorer and Gilligan’s Island were regularly beating B & B). I still consider The Tomorrow People almost certainly a goner as well as its lead-in Star-Crossed which only scraped up a 0.3 rating with one million total viewers on Monday night. Also on that night, CBS spy fi series Intelligence sank back to its season low as it pulled a 1.1 rating with 6.6 million total viewers. It is currently that network’s second lowest rated show and it was not included in the recent slew of renewal announcements (which did award Person of Interest a fourth season), so you do the math on its chances.
On Friday, ABC’s The Neighbors matched its season low at a 0.8 rating in the 18-49 demo with three and a half million total viewers. That one will almost certainly be moving out of the neighborhood at the end of the season. On NBC, Hannibal improved slightly to a 0.9 rating with 2.5 million total viewers. Too many intangibles dictate that show’s fate, though, so I am still steering clear of a firm prediction on it. And over on Syfy, Helix continues to show some life as it improved to a 0.5 rating with 1.2 million total viewers. If it can finish out the season (two episodes left) at that level, then it may have a chance at a second season.
Other Ratings News: The Walking Dead improved slightly from the prior week as it edged up to a 6.4 rating in the 18-49 demo with 12.9 million total viewers for Sunday’s much-talked about episode. That show has two episodes left in its fourth season and may break some more ratings records with this year’s finale. Also on Sunday, Once Upon A Time held steady with a 2.4 rating and 7.8 million total viewers. Its long hiatus seems to have actually helped its numbers and it looks to finish this season strong (as it heads to almost certain renewal). FOX’s Cosmos revival also held steady from the prior week as it pulled another 2.0 rating with right at five million total viewers. On Friday, Grimm improved its numbers to a 1.6 rating with 5.6 million total viewers. Expect a fourth season renewal announcement on that one at any time. On Monday, MTV’s Teen Wolf remained at a 0.8 rating with two million total viewers for its penultimate Season 3 episode. Its season finale is next with a fourth year renewal already in the bag. Syfy’s cancelled Being Human pulled a 0.5 rating with 1.1 million total viewers. Could another cable network or a streaming service like Amazon or Netflix take an interest in keeping this one going?
Keep your eyes open over the coming weeks because cancellation announcements for shows like Intelligence, Almost Human, Star-Crossed and some of the others could come at any time. And keep an eye on this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for the latest ratings numbers and breaking announcements. 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 and The Futon Critic
Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2014 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
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Horror at 37,000 Feet: Long-lost TV horror gem starring William Shatner, Roy Thinnes, and Chuck Connors
This 1973 relic from the age of the TV Movie of the Week delivered a creepy and fun (if rather cheesy) Twilight Zone/Night Gallery type tale extended over an hour and a half. Its story revolves around a flight chartered by architect Alan O’Neill and his wife Sheila to carry the ruins of an ancient altar from London to the United States. Along the way, strange events begin to occur and the passengers and crew come to the realization that that an evil presence is on the plane and threatens to destroy them all. It may not quite measure up to TV horror classics like The Trilogy of Terror, Gargoyles, The Nightstalker, or Duel, but it’s still great fun and it has a who’s who of aging TV actors among its cast including William Shatner (Star Trek), Roy Thinnes (The Invaders), Chuck Connors (The Rifleman), Buddy Ebsen (The Beverly Hillbillies), Russell Johnson (Gilligan’s Island), Paul Winfield (multiple guest-starring roles) and France Nuyen (I Spy and multiple guest-starring roles including Elaan in the Trek episode “Elaan of Troyius”). Shatner ends up stealing the show and elevating this above the standard TV Movie of the Week that was so common among the Big Three networks at that time even if it doesn’t quite count as a genre classic. But it’s worth a look and it is available now for the first time on video. Order from Amazon.com
I believe people might be torn between Believe & Resurrection, as like I am. I record them both, but for people who don’t they are switching between both leaving both shows dropping so put them on at different times and both shows will climb….