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.
Renewal Chances: As we head into the May Upfronts for the broadcast networks I will be looking at some of this season’s marginal series and considering their chances for renewal. NBC’s Timeless started the season with plenty of good buzz and was scheduled in the coveted post-The Voice timeslot on Mondays at 10 PM EST. However, it under-performed in that hour compared to previous shows, and it numbers dropped off notably in January when it no longer had The Voice to give it a boost. It ended its first season as one of NBC’s lower rated shows and it is currently in the lower half of the Cancellation Watch Scorecard that compares shows to the average ratings of the network they air on.
All of that said, though, I still like its chances of getting the second season nod. The show did perform well in delayed viewing (though we know the broadcast nets do not give those numbers much weight beyond PR), and it has developed a very vocal fanbase that has been very active on the social nets supporting the show. That later factor may not have matted much in the past, but we are in the heat of Peak TV right now with the old school ratings numbers dropping across the board. I believe that social network engagement will become more and more important to the networks (they have already been talking it up to an extent the last few years) and it could tip the scale for Timeless. I am still leaving it at Cancellation Likely status because that is what the numbers dictate and there are no inside rumors of renewal floating around that I know of like with Agents of SHIELD. But my gut tells me that Timeless has a decent chance at this point and even the every-grouchy Cancellation Bear even thinks it has a shot at renewal (not so with the TV Grim Reaper, though). It could go either way, but I’m hoping that NBC will embrace the strong fanbase for this show and give it a chance.
Ratings Results of Interest: The CW shows returned from their yearly Spring hiatus, and as always this seems to have impacted their ratings. Supergirl slipped to a series low 0.5 rating based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic with 1.8 million total viewers. The Flash actually improved one tick from its last new episode with a 1.0 rating and 2.7 million total viewers, but it was below its season to date average. Arrow (0.5 rating w/1.4M tot viewers), The 100 (0.3 rating w/810K tot viewers), and Supernatural (0.5 rating w/1.4M tot viewers) all returned at season low levels, though all of those have already been renewed. iZombie did not improve any, even though it received a stronger lead-in from The Flash, and it remained at a 0.3 rating with one million total viewers. On Tuesday, ABC’s Agents of SHIELD slipped back to a 0.7 rating with 2.1 million total viewers, but rumor is that one is tracking toward a fifth (and possibly final) season renewal.
The Charts: A repeat of MacGyver made it into the the broadcast net Top 25 based on total viewers at Number 21, but there was no other chart activity for genre shows beyond that. We might see the premiere of Starz’s American Gods make it into the Nielsen Social Net Top 10 when those numbers are tallied next week.
Be sure keep an eye out for the latest numbers and any breaking news throughout the week at the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site and Facebook Page. You can see the status of all the currently airing sci fi / fantasy shows at the Cancellation Watch page. And for more information on where I get these numbers and how I make my Cancellation Alert assessments, check out the Cancelled Sci Fi FAQ.
