Syfy announced this afternoon that its Superman prequel series Krypton will be returning for a second season. The news does not come as a big surprise, but the renewal was not a sure thing either. The show has been one of the network’s most watched scripted series in its first season, but that is weighted heavily on the performance of the early episodes. For the past four weeks, it has been performing about equal to (sometimes worse) than The Expanse which was just cancelled. That latter series was hurt by the fact that Syfy has no ownership stake in it and had to make money from the advertising on the live broadcasts (a measure of success that is very much out of sync with the way people view shows these days). The network may have a similar deal with Krypton which is owned by Warner Bros., and if it returns at current ratings levels next year, that may put its fate in doubt.
I figured that Syfy would renew the show because it has not had many successes lately and it would have been rather embarrassing to cancel a show that started out so well for the network. But if the cabler continues to rely on the linear ratings as a measure of success, it will be tough to keep shows on the air, especially considering the fact that the overall viewership for its scripted programming has continued to decline. Syfy needs to work out a model for its business that is more in line with the Peak TV environment and more friendly to its audience who tend to watch shows on a delay and/or via streaming. It also needs to do a better job of promoting its shows, especially when they return after their inaugural seasons. For now, though, fans of Krypton should be happy it is returning next year and they should definitely take to the social networks to bring it more attention once it is back.
Krypton takes place on the titular planet some time before it is destroyed and follows Superman’s grandfather Seg-El who is trying to save is family and his people. It stars Cameron Cuffe, Georgina Campbell, Shaun Sipos, and Elliot Cowan. The show’s Season 1 finale airs tomorrow night at 10 PM EST following The Expanse.
There are still several more shows awaiting word on their fate and I expect more announcements to roll in over the next week or so. Be sure to follow the Cancellation Watch Tracker and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates.
