Coming as no big surprise, Syfy has announced that its two space opera shows Killjoys and Dark Matter will both be returning for a third season. And it should be noted that the Canadian Space Channel probably had a say in the renewal as well as that network partners with Syfy on both shows and they have been performing quite well up north. I have had both shows at a Moderate Cancellation Alert level since early in the season, but that is because their linear viewing numbers dropped pretty low after their first few Season 2 airings. Both have been on an upswing the last few weeks and the Space Channel partnership helps their standings as well. They have experienced decent delayed viewing gains (based on the small sample I have seen from the season so far) and could also be picking up some more hits with digital viewing (Syfy rarely shares those numbers, though). I never considered them firmly On the Bubble during their sophomore years and have been predicting that they were more likely to be renewed than not the last few weeks. Of the two, Killjoys has garnered some decent buzz around the sci fi community and its numbers are slightly better than Dark Matter this season (whereas that latter show was slightly ahead during their freshman year). At this point, both appear to be on target for the four to five season run we have been seeing from the moderate to low rated cable genre shows the last few years (e.g., Falling Skies, Lost Girl, Continuum, Orphan Black). To last beyond that, I believe they would have to improve their ratings in the coming season and beyond. Killjoys has its Season 2 finale tomorrow at 9 PM EST, and Dark Matter will wrap up in two weeks on September 16th (after airing a double episode next week). Both will likely have their Season 3 bows at some point next Summer.
There are still several Spring / Summer sci fi & fantasy shows awaiting word on their fate at this point such as Freeform’s Stitchers (On the Bubble), FOX’s Wayward Pines (On the Bubble), and Chiller’s Slasher (Renewal Possible). Keep a close eye on this site as well as the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for any breaking news on those shows and more in the coming weeks.
Buy Season 1 of Killjoys and Dark Matter on Blu-Ray and DVD from Amazon.com:
