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 Sunday 7/20 and Monday 7/21:
Ratings Results: This Summer’s ratings for sci fi / fantasy shows continue to look rather tepid, even impacting the show I currently have at the Number 1 slot in my most recent Power Rankings, MTV’s Teen Wolf. On Monday, that show slipped to a series season low of a 0.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 1.6 million total viewers. That’s a bit of a surprise considering how well it did for the second half of its third season at the beginning of 2014. It averaged a 0.9 rating then and never slipped below the 0.8 level. Still, despite the show’s lagging ratings, it made it into the Top 10 of the Nielsen Twitter Rankings last week, though it did slip from the Number 3 slot to Number 7. Personally, I believe that this one is bullet-proof through its fourth season and we have already heard word that a fifth season is ramping up. But continued ratings slippage for another year could lead to some concern.
In the same Monday timeslot, CBS series Under the Dome also hit a season low of a 1.5 rating in the 18-49 demo with 6.7 million total viewers. And that was after its numbers improved last week which meant that it suffered a 21% drop. I’m not raising the red flag on this show just yet, and that rating should still keep it in the Top 15 shows on the broadcast networks. But it is now considerably lower than its ratings average from last season and there is some cause for concern. Still, the streaming deal that Amazon has with Extant and this show should help to keep it afloat and its season to date average is above the 1.6 target that I have pegged as the threshold it must maintain. But Under the Dome is definitely no longer the ratings juggernaut is was during its first season.
Ratings results in general are down from last Summer with HBO’s True Blood and TNT’s Falling Skies also performing at lower levels year over year. And none of the new shows like The Last Ship or The Strain have made a huge ratings splash either. Perhaps this is another indication of the ratings attrition we have been seeing for the past year and more, though that has had much more of an impact on the broadcast networks with the cable channels typically grabbing up those viewers leaving the old school nets. This Summer has definitely been unkind to most of the sci fi / fantasy shows, though I still do not have any as likely to get cancelled and I don’t expect that to change in the immediate future.
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.
True Blood 7/20 HBO Sun 9 PM
Rating: 1.9 | Tot Viewers: 3.6 | StD Rating: 1.8 | Target: 0.0 | Cancellation Alert: Final Season
A slight improvement in its numbers and it may start edging up as it approaches its final episode.
Witches of East End 7/20 LIFE Sun 9 PM
Rating: 0.5 | Tot Viewers: 1.3 | StD Rating: 0.5 | Target: 0.5 | Cancellation Alert: Low
It dropped a tick from last week, but it’s still doing well enough for its network.
The Last Ship 7/20 TNT Sun 9 PM
Rating: 1.1 | Tot Viewers: 4.1 | StD Rating: 1.1 | Target: 1.0 | Cancellation Alert: Renewed
A slight improvement in its ratings and it won Sunday night among cable shows in total viewers. Still, it can’t be counted as a breakout hit despite what TNT’s spin department wants you to believe.
The Leftovers 7/20 HBO Sun 10 PM
Rating: 0.8 | Tot Viewers: 1.6 | StD Rating: 0.8 | Target: 1.0 | Cancellation Alert: Moderate
It’s hanging in there, and HBO’s spin-doctors are playing up its numbers as best they can. Is that just damage control, though?
The Strain 7/20 FX Sun 10 PM
Rating: 1.0 | Tot Viewers: 2.1 | StD Rating: 1.1 | Target: 1.0 | Cancellation Alert: Low
It dropped from its premiere, but not bad. Needs to hold at or above the 1.0 level, though.
Falling Skies 7/20 TNT Sun 10 PM
Rating: 0.8 | Tot Viewers: 2.8 | StD Rating: 0.8 | Target: 1.0 | Cancellation Alert: Renewed
It is holding steadily low as it heads into its final season next year.
Under The Dome 7/21 CBS Mon 10 PM
Rating: 1.5 | Tot Viewers: 6.7 | StD Rating: 1.8 | Target: 1.6 | Cancellation Alert: Low
It dropped this week but will still likely be in the Top 15 broadcast net shows based on its rating. Is that good enough for a somewhat costly Summer show on sci fi averse CBS?
Teen Wolf 7/21 MTV Mon 10 PM
Rating: 0.6 | Tot Viewers: 1.6 | StD Rating: 0.7 | Target: 0.8 | Cancellation Alert: Low
Note to MTV: Move this one back to the regular season. It did much better then against tougher competition.
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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.
Teen Wolf isn’t going to get cancelled. Its MTV’s top show. They have a hard on for Teen Wolf. And while the show has gotten so so bad, I’m hopeful they’ll pull back up for season 5.
your incorrect whoever posted this , teen wolf did not get a series low with a 0.6 and 1.6 , in season 1 and season 2 in some episodes it got 0.5 and 1.2-1.3 million viewers. So do your research next time.
So it did. I thought that 0.6 was its lowest point, but looked back to the old numbers and saw that 0.5. My bad on that.