Cancellation Watch Breaking News: Freeform Renews Beyond for a Second Season, ABC Exec Talks Fates of Agents of SHIELD and Once Upon A Time

Renewal Announcement: Freeform announced yesterday at the TCAs that their freshman series Beyond will be returning for a second season. That show bowed last week with decent linear viewing numbers for a cable series and the entire first season was made available on the network’s website and app for streaming. Freeform indicated that seven million people have viewed the series digitally so far and also came up with a seven million number for three day delayed viewing, though that is apparently somewhat skewed (as detailed in the Variety article). In any case, the network seems happy enough with the viewership of the series–especially in their target demographic–to bring it back for a second year, which is not a huge surprise because it has been promoted heavily by Freeform. And fans of Shadowhunters can take this as good news because that series, which leads into Beyond on Mondays, has been performing better in the linear ratings and has been trending well on the social nets. It is in its second season and I currently consider a third year renewal a good bet.

ABC Shows: The Big Four broadcast networks did not participate in the TCAs this year, but have been talking to the press a lot this week and the ABC Entertainment Group president Channing Dungey had some notable comments on Agents of SHIELD and Once Upon A Time. Concerning the former series, he said that he hoped it could find some synergies with the upcoming Inhumans show and that the new series could have a “halo effect” that draws viewers over to Agents of SHIELD (which has been struggling in the ratings for several years). The Inhumans will debut in IMAX theaters before starting its run on television in Fall and Dungey commented that “hopefully there’s a world for me where those shows exist side-by-side on our air and are two different pieces of music that exist together in the same landscape”. Of course, there is no guarantee the Agents of SHIELD will still be around in Fall once The Inhumans has it bow, but at least the network is still considering the possibility.

As for Once Upon A Time, Dungey noted that the current season could be the show’s last. Apparently it will reach a certain point in its story arc at the end of its sixth year which would have it at a good place to wrap up. The show’s creators Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis have pitched ideas for a seventh season, but the network has not decided yet if it will keep it around for another year. Once Upon A Time is currently at all-time ratings lows and I have been predicting for some time that this season or next could be its last. It still has synergies with parent company Disney as characters from their vault are currently worked into the storylines. But if the sixth season offers the right time to wrap up the show, the network might choose that direction instead of having it continue to limp along on the schedule. And even if it does go one more year, that will almost certainly be its last.

With the TCAs going on this week, expect more renewal and cancellation announcements, and maybe we will finally hear word on shows like Slasher (Chiller), Wayward Pines (FOX), Between (Netflix), and more.  So be sure to keep an eye on this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for any updates and/or breaking news.