In this weekly column, I monitor the viewership levels for the currently airing sci fi and fantasy shows as well as their renewal and cancellation prospects. Also check out This Week In Sci-Fi TV on Fridays (sometimes Saturdays), which delivers news and updates on genre television. Ratings Source: The Nielsen Company.
The Gifted Should Keep on Giving
FOX’s X-Men tie-in series The Gifted has slipped some in the ratings just lately, but that shouldn’t be a cause of concern as the show looks to be on track for a renewal at this point. That one started off with very good numbers for its debut, but has been slipping since then, this past week matching a season low of a 1.0 rating. But like The Orville, that show must contend with stiff competition and it has seen notable gains from delayed viewing, frequently landing in the Top 10 among all broadcast network shows based on Live+7 viewing. And even though the broadcast nets do not give as much weight to the delayed viewing, it would be hard to justify cancelling a Top 10 entry, especially during the Peak TV crunch era.
In addition, FOX owns The Gifted and it ties into the movie franchise, so they have an incentive to keep it going to help promote the X-Men films. I’m not sure if this show will be capped at thirteen episodes to keep costs down like with The Orville (which is becoming increasingly more common), but if not we should be hearing word on a “back 9” to bring it to a full season of 22 episodes. If it won’t go beyond thirteen eps for its first season, then expect the second year pickup unless the show suddenly tanks in the ratings (unlikely).
Other shows currently looking like strong candidates for renewal are The Walking Dead (AMC), Outlander (Starz), Z Nation (Syfy), and all the currently airing genre entries on The CW.
Ratings Results of Interest: The Inhumans Holds Low for Its Season Finale
On Friday, ABC’s The Inhumans had a 0.5 rating based on same day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 2.0 million total viewers for its season finale. Only eight episodes were ordered for that one and I didn’t expect more even if it did well in the ratings. And at this point, it does not appear that a second season is in the works for that one either. More on that at this link.
On Thursday, Syfy’s Van Helsing slipped to its lowest numbers yet as it only managed a 0.10 rating with 303K total viewers. Ghost Wars also dropped in the lead-out out hour to a 0.06 rating with 324K total viewers. Both of those shows need a strong showing of support from their fans at this point.
On Saturday, BBC America’s Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency slipped to a 0.06 rating with 248K total viewers. That show’s Netflix deal could carry it into a third season, but a Call to Action from fans could help as well. On Sunday, The Walking Dead improved to a 3.9 rating with 8.7 million total viewers. I haven’t heard an official ninth season announcement for that one, but expect that and more.
I covered the early week ratings in at this link and be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for the latest ratings results and breaking news. You can see the full ratings results for last week at this link.
Notable Posts from Last Week:
Cancellation Watch Scorecard: Most Shows Remain Steady as Fall Winds Down Read
Kevin Probably Won’t Be Saving the World Much Longer Read
Will Gotham and Lucifer be Cancelled or Renewed? Read
