Cancellation Watch: The Walking Dead Wraps Up S4 Strong, Resurrection Slows its Decline

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 Win: It may not have broken its previous record, but The Walking Dead still ended its fourth season with eye-popping numbers.  What was a gut-wrenching finale that ended on a major cliffhanger pulled a staggering 8.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic with a monumental 15.7 million total viewers.  That ratings number fell two ticks short of the Season 4 premiere of an 8.2 score, but who’s splitting hairs on this one?  That debut episode set a ratings record for a scripted cable series (and is considerably higher than any numbers I have seen on the broadcast nets the last few years) and I’m sure the finale takes a close second on that list of records.  Even the discussion series The Talking Dead had a major win as it pulled a 3.7 score with 7.3 million total viewers which matched the highest rated show (The Voice) on the broadcast networks last week.  Overall, TWD averaged an unprecedented 6.8 rating in the 18-49 demo based on the overnights for its fourth season and beat out all of the broadcast network shows (including The Voice and American Idol) as well as notable sporting events like the Olympics and some football games.  The series returns with its fifth season in October (with a sixth season renewal all but assured) and its as yet unnamed spin-off will be close on its heals.

On The Hot Seat: On Friday, The Neighbors improved to a 1.1 rating in the 18-49 demo with 4.2 million total viewers and that rating matches its second highest point for the season.  Could ABC keep this one going just to fill a difficult thirty minute slot on the schedule for next season?  Seems unlikely, but then this show beat the odds last year.  Over on NBC, Hannibal improved to a 1.0 rating with 3.5 million total viewers.  Since this one does not follow the typical model for a Prime Time production, numbers like that on a Friday night just might keep it going for another season.  On Sunday, NBC’s Believe pulled another 1.1 rating with 4.9 million total viewers.  It’s prospects continue to wane unless the network gives it a shot in a better timeslot.

On Monday, The CW’s two genre entries Star-Crossed and The Tomorrow People both improved their numbers with the former pulling a 0.4 rating and one million total viewers while the latter had a 0.5 rating with 1.1 million total viewers.  The network’s spin department even tried to bill this as a win for the night claiming the two shows gave The CW its most viewers on a Monday in over a year.  But you don’t have to look hard a those numbers to realize that all that tells you is just how pathetic the network’s Monday lineup has been for quite a while.  Over on CBS, Intelligence improved to a 1.2 rating with 5.6 million total viewers for its season finale.  Based on its performance in the Monday 10 PM EST timeslot, though, that episode will also likely act as its swansong.

Other Ratings News: On Sunday, ABC’s Once Upon A Time repeated its 2.1 score in the 18-49 demo from last week with 6.6 million total viewers.  Those numbers are good enough for this third season series on a night where the broadcast networks have been struggling of late and this one should get a fourth year nod at any time.  In the next hour, Resurrection slowed its decline as it pulled a 2.4 rating with 8.4 million total viewers.  If this one does not drop any further, it should be good for a second season.  If it gets down around the 2.0 level, though, things could get a bit dicey.  On FOX, Cosmos slipped to a 1.5 rating with 3.9 million total viewers in the face of stiff competition from The Walking Dead and Resurrection.  On Monday, Being Human improved to a 0.5 rating with 1.1 million viewers for its second to last episode.  You have to wonder it Syfy might regret the cancellation decision on this one seeing as it has averaged better numbers than renewed shows Haven and Helix.  NBC’s (already renewed) Grimm was preempted on Friday, but it returns with a new episode this week.

We’ve heard quite a number of renewal announcements over the last few weeks (including Helix, Grimm, and Person of Interest), but only two cancellations: Being Human and Once Upon A Time in Wonderland.  More could come at any time, though so keep an eye on this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking announcements as well as the latest ratings numbers.  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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