FOX announced yesterday that their freshman supernatural comedy series Ghosted will be receiving six additional episodes for its first season bringing its total to sixteen. At first that may seem like good news because the show will get more eps this year, but it did not receive the full twenty-two often expected for a broadcast network series. Of course, Ghosted started out with an order of only ten episodes, three short of the typical initial order. That could be because it relies on more special effects than the typical comedy series and the shortened order could be a way of keeping costs down. And if that is the case, the additional order of only six episodes, instead of the typical “Back 9”, may be okay. But the thing to consider is that when a new show does not get a full twenty-two episode order, it often means the network has lost faith in it and may only use the additional episodes as “schedule spackle” to reduce the repeats it has to air throughout the regular season. That definitely appears to be the case for ABC’s Kevin (Probably) Saves the World (more on that at this link), and could be the same with Ghosted especially considering the fact that the show will bring in a new showrunner for the final six episodes (meaning network is not particularly happy with the current direction of the show).
But Ghosted has definitely done better in the ratings this Fall than Kevin, and is currently one of FOX’s higher rated shows. It has received the benefit of NFL audience bleed-over on Sundays, but it has also done okay on the nights when there was no NFL game to boost the ratings. I’m not ready to raise the red flag on Ghosted just yet, and I will keep it at Renewal Possible status. But if its numbers start to slip, especially when it returns from its Winter break in January, it could move to Bubble status pretty quickly.
Expect more announcements as Fall winds down and be sure to follow this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for the latest renewal / cancellation news.
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