The Clock May be Ticking for Timeless

On Sunday, NBC’s sophomore series Timeless slipped to a series low 0.6 rating based on same day viewing with 2.6 million total viewers. When that show debuted in the Sunday 10 PM EST hour three weeks ago with a 0.8 rating, I figured that was okay for that timeslot if it did not slip too much. But now it has dropped for a second weekend in a row and that is impacting its chances of survival. It doesn’t help that NBC has not given it much of a lead-in, but it is at levels that are definitely concerning at this point. The show has a very dedicated fanbase and they need to stage a Call to Action in order to bring more it attention and convince NBC that it is worth their efforts to bring this one back for another season.

In other ratings news, The Walking Dead improved to a 3.0 rating on Sunday with 6.8 million total viewers. Whether that indicates that it has staved off the Walking Dexit for now, remains to be seen. Over on Starz, Ash vs. Evil Dead improved slightly to a 0.10 rating with 179K total viewers. That show has been struggling in the ratings in its third season and could use a Call to Action from its fans. On Thursday on Freeform, Beyond improved slightly to a 0.09 rating with 263K total viewers for its Season 2 finale. That is another show that could use some support from its fans. I covered the early week ratings on Friday at this link and you can see the full ratings results for the week at this link. Be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for the latest results and to stay tuned as we approach the countdown to season end in May.  Ratings Source: ShowBuzzDaily

Agent Coulson Will Appear in the Captain Marvel Movie, is That a Good Sign for Agents of SHIELD?

Word broke this week that Clark Gregg will be appearing in next year’s Captain Marvel movie as Agent Coulson, which will be his first appearance in one of the Marvel Universe movies since 2012’s The Avengers. So if Coulson will be around for that movie, is that a good sign for the Agents of SHIELD TV series which I currently have On the Bubble? I would say possibly yes. If the series is going to link up to that movie, it may be enough incentive for Disney to insist that it stay on the air as a tie-in to big screen events. The ratings for AoS have definitely been down this season, but it already has more than enough episodes for a healthy syndication run and any additional seasons are just padding to that which will recoup their costs down the road. Henry Simmons (who plays Mack on the show) talked with Syfy Wire at Wonder Con and had this to say about the show’s future:

I think there’s a good possibility we are coming back. I’m hearing that. Now, whether that’s a full 22 episodes, I don’t know.

So I would say that the future is looking a little brighter for Agents of SHIELD and it could come back for another season. It’s possible that could be just a thirteen-episode final season that will air in the latter half of the year to coincide with the March 2019 release date for Captain Marvel. But the agents may still have a few more assignments ahead of them.

Has the Deadpool Animated Series Been Cancelled Before it Began?

FX had given a ten-episode direct-to-series order for a Deadpool animated series to be helmed by Donald Glover (Community) and his brother Stephen Glover that would follow in the R-Rated tradition of the film, but that show has hit a roadblock. The network made the following announcement this past weekend:

Due to creative differences, FX, Donald Glover, Stephen Glover and Marvel Television have agreed to part ways on Marvel’s Deadpool animated series. FX will no longer be involved with the project. FX and Marvel have an ongoing relationship through our partnership on Legion, which will continue.

Whether that means that the series is dead in the water remains to be seen. Marvel has not indicated at this point whether it will try to take the show to another venue are perhaps target it for the Disney streaming service set to launch next year (it might not fit well with the target demographics for that, though). Considering the popularity of the first Deadpool movie and the fact that the second is on the way on the way in May, I would expect that they will take another stab at the animated series.