NBC’s Timeless had its second season debut this past Sunday and pulled decent but not spectacular ratings. That has it starting out in the Scorecard in the lower third at the Number 28 slot, which is not terrible especially for its timeslot. If it does not slip too much and fans continue to support it on the social networks, the show could get a third season. We will have to see how it tracks in the coming weeks, though. The TBS animated series Final Space did not get added to the Scorecard last week, but it is there now at the Number 17 slot. That is a decent start for a cable series and it has a chance of sticking around for a second season. Notable shows that slipped this week are The X-Files, iZombie, Agents of SHIELD, Channel Zero, and Ash vs. Evil Dead. All of those have been pulling mediocre to downright bad ratings lately. Most of the rest of the movement for the week was just incidental and you can see the full rankings below.
The scorecard ranks all of the sci fi and fantasy shows’ ratings performance vs. their network’s ratings benchmark (see definition below). Shows at or above their benchmark should be okay, whereas those slipping notably below are getting into iffy territory.
Scorecard rankings based on the ratings through March 11th (metric definitions below):
| Rank (PW) | Series | Net | Std Avg | Net Bench | % Var | Live+7 Avg Rtg | Status |
| 1 (1) | The Walking Dead (O) | AMC | 3.60 | 0.50 | 620.2% | 5.92 | Renewed |
| 2 (2) | American Horror Story (O) | FX | 1.10 | 0.50 | 120.7% | 2.47 | Renewed |
| 3 (3) | The Flash (O) | CW | 0.77 | 0.44 | 76.2% | 1.64 | Renewal Likely |
| 4 (4) | Outlander | Starz | 0.32 | 0.20 | 59.6% | 0.60 | Renewed |
| 5 (5) | The Magicians (O) | Syfy | 0.26 | 0.17 | 51.6% | 0.60 | Renewal Likely |
| 6 (6) | Ghosted (O) | FOX | 1.60 | 1.08 | 48.1% | n/a | Renewal Possible |
| 7 (7) | Black Lightning (O) | CW | 0.61 | 0.44 | 41.2% | n/a | Renewal Possible |
| 8 (8) | Supernatural (O) | CW | 0.58 | 0.44 | 34.1% | 0.98 | Renewal Likely |
| 9 (9) | Supergirl (O) | CW | 0.58 | 0.44 | 32.2% | 1.01 | Renewal Likely |
| 10 (10) | Happy (O) | Syfy | 0.21 | 0.17 | 24.3% | 0.55 | Renewed |
| 11 (11) | Riverdale (O) | CW | 0.50 | 0.44 | 14.9% | 1.13 | Renewal Likely |
| 12 (12) | The Last Man on Earth (O) | FOX | 1.15 | 1.08 | 6.4% | n/a | Renewal Possible |
| 13 (13) | Z Nation | Syfy | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.5% | 0.37 | Renewed |
| 14 (14) | Legends of Tomorrow (O) | CW | 0.43 | 0.44 | -2.3% | 1.03 | Renewal Likely |
| 15 (15) | Arrow (O) | CW | 0.42 | 0.44 | -4.2% | 1.01 | Renewal Likely |
| 16 (n/a) | Final Space (O) | TBS | 0.28 | 0.30 | -6.7% | n/a | Renewal Possible |
| 17 (17) | The Orville (O) | FOX | 1.00 | 1.08 | -7.5% | 2.15 | Renewed |
| 18 (16) | The X-Files (O) | FOX | 0.99 | 1.08 | -8.6% | n/a | Final Season |
| 19 (18) | The Good Place (O) | NBC | 1.04 | 1.22 | -14.6% | 1.95 | Renewed |
| 20 (19) | MacGyver (O) (F) | CBS | 0.92 | 1.15 | -20.5% | n/a | Renewal Possible |
| 21 (21) | The Gifted (O) | FOX | 0.85 | 1.08 | -21.3% | 2.08 | Renewed |
| 22 (20) | Stan Against Evil | IFC | 0.06 | 0.08 | -21.9% | n/a | Renewed |
| 23 (23) | Lucifer | FOX | 0.82 | 1.08 | -24.4% | 1.45 | Renewal Possible |
| 24 (22) | Van Helsing | Syfy | 0.13 | 0.17 | -25.8% | 0.30 | Renewed |
| 25 (24) | The Librarians | TNT | 0.29 | 0.40 | -27.5% | 0.60 | Renewal Possible |
| 26 (26) | Mr Robot (O) | USA | 0.22 | 0.30 | -28.0% | 0.44 | Renewed |
| 27 (25) | Gotham | FOX | 0.75 | 1.08 | -30.6% | 1.54 | Renewal Possible |
| 28 (n/a) | Timeless (O) | NBC | 0.80 | 1.22 | -34.3% | n/a | Renewed |
| 29 (27) | iZombie (O) | CW | 0.25 | 0.44 | -42.5% | n/a | Renewed |
| 30 (31) | Superstition | Syfy | 0.09 | 0.17 | -48.5% | n/a | Cancellation Likely |
| 31 (28) | Agents of SHIELD (O) (F) | ABC | 0.59 | 1.15 | -49.1% | 1.27 | Renewal Possible |
| 31 (30) | The Inhumans (O) (F) | ABC | 0.59 | 1.15 | -49.1% | 1.13 | Cancellation Likely |
| 31 (32) | Kevin Probably Saves the World (O) | ABC | 0.59 | 1.15 | -49.1% | 1.00 | Cancellation Likely |
| 34 (29) | Channel Zero (O) | Syfy | 0.09 | 0.17 | -49.4% | n/a | Renewed |
| 35 (33) | Ghost Wars | Syfy | 0.09 | 0.17 | -49.8% | n/a | Cancellation Likely |
| 36 (34) | Counterpart | Starz | 0.09 | 0.20 | -53.8% | n/a | Renewed |
| 37 (36) | The Shannara Chronicles (O) | Spike | 0.09 | 0.20 | -54.3% | 0.30 | Cancelled |
| 38 (35) | Beyond | Freeform | 0.09 | 0.20 | -57.1% | n/a | On the Bubble |
| 39 (37) | Ash vs Evil Dead | Starz | 0.09 | 0.20 | -57.5% | n/a | Renewal Possible |
| 40 (39) | Once Upon A Time (O) (F) | ABC | 0.45 | 1.15 | -60.9% | 1.09 | Cancelled |
| 41 (38) | The Exorcist (O) (F) | FOX | 0.42 | 1.08 | -61.1% | 0.60 | Cancellation Likely |
| 42 (40) | Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency | BBCA | 0.07 | 0.30 | -76.7% | n/a | Cancelled |
Metric Definitions:
Rank (PW): Current rank based on the variance of a show’s season to date ratings average vs. its network’s benchmark (see definition below). The number in parenthesis is the prior week’s rank. Note that shows on the streaming services are not included because of insufficient viewership data and foreign imports like Doctor Who will not be included because they rely more heavily on their viewership in their home countries.
Series: (O) indicates the show is owned or co-owned by the network and/or a sister studio. (F) indicates the show airs on Friday when ratings expectations are lower on the broadcast networks.
StD Avg: The show’s season to date ratings average based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic.
Net Bench: (Network Benchmark) For the broadcast networks, this is the net’s season to date average rating based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic for non-sports, non-special, non-repeat broadcasts. For the cable channels, this is the lowest level at which a show is typically renewed by that network if there are enough genre entries on that channel to provide a decent sample. But note that with cable entries intangibles such as international and/or streaming partnerships can play an important factor in a shows survival and that is not measured here.
% Var: The percent variance between a show’s season to date average and the network benchmark as defined above. The higher the variance, the better a show is performing vs. the benchmark.
Live+7 Avg Rtg: The show’s season to date ratings average based on delayed viewing up to three days past the live broadcast. This data is not available for all shows.
Status: My assessment of the likelihood that a show will get renewed or cancelled. The statuses are Renewal Likely, Renewal Possible, On the Bubble, Cancellation Likely (plus Renewed and Cancelled/Ended)
Ratings Source: ShowBuzzDaily and TV by the Numbers
I do hope Lucifer is renewed. It’s a fun show and we all need a bit of levity in our lives. It’s been improving this season so I hope it gets more time. Thanks