There was not much movement in this week’s Scorecard which is to be expected at this point in the season. Salvation did slip by one slot to Number 43, but other than some incidental movement the other shows held steady. The Fall season starts next week, so I will be wrapping up the 2017-18 Scorecard once this week’s activity is in the books. Several Summer shows are still airing new episodes, but I don’t expect much movement from them (maybe changing by a slot or two) so next week’s rankings should give us a pretty final view. The Scorecard will then go on break for September as I start to collect the ratings numbers for the broadcast nets to set the benchmarks for the 2018-19 season. Look for the first set of rankings for the coming season to be out the first week of October.
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 August 26th:
| Rank (PW) | Series | Net | Std Avg | Net Bench | % Var | Live+7 Avg Rtg | Status |
| 1 (1) | The Walking Dead (O) | AMC | 3.39 | 0.50 | 578.0% | 5.22 | Renewed |
| 2 (2) | American Horror Story (O) | FX | 1.10 | 0.50 | 120.7% | 2.47 | Renewed |
| 3 (3) | The Flash (O) | CW | 0.71 | 0.38 | 86.4% | 1.55 | Renewed |
| 4 (4) | Fear the Walking Dead (O) | AMC | 0.86 | 0.50 | 72.0% | 1.73 | Renewed |
| 5 (5) | Outlander | Starz | 0.32 | 0.20 | 59.6% | 0.60 | Renewed |
| 6 (6) | The Magicians (O) | Syfy | 0.26 | 0.17 | 54.3% | 0.57 | Renewed |
| 7 (7) | Black Lightning (O) | CW | 0.56 | 0.38 | 46.5% | 0.96 | Renewed |
| 8 (8) | Supernatural (O) | CW | 0.53 | 0.38 | 37.9% | 0.96 | Renewed |
| 9 (9) | Krypton | Syfy | 0.23 | 0.17 | 36.5% | 0.63 | Renewed |
| 10 (10) | Supergirl (O) | CW | 0.49 | 0.38 | 28.6% | 0.95 | Renewed |
| 11 (11) | Happy (O) | Syfy | 0.21 | 0.17 | 24.3% | 0.55 | Renewed |
| 12 (12) | Riverdale (O) | CW | 0.43 | 0.38 | 12.4% | 0.97 | Renewed |
| 13 (13) | Siren | Freeform | 0.22 | 0.20 | 10.6% | 0.52 | Renewed |
| 14 (14) | Legends of Tomorrow (O) | CW | 0.41 | 0.38 | 7.3% | 0.92 | Renewed |
| 15 (15) | The Expanse | Syfy | 0.18 | 0.17 | 3.9% | 0.40 | Renewed |
| 16 (16) | Cloak and Dagger (O) | Freeform | 0.21 | 0.20 | 3.7% | 0.55 | Renewed |
| 17 (17) | The Orville (O) | FOX | 1.00 | 0.97 | 3.6% | 2.15 | Renewed |
| 18 (18) | Westworld | HBO | 0.61 | 0.60 | 1.7% | 1.05 | Renewed |
| 19 (19) | Z Nation | Syfy | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.5% | 0.37 | Renewed |
| 20 (20) | Arrow (O) | CW | 0.38 | 0.38 | -1.2% | 0.87 | Renewed |
| 21 (21) | The X-Files (O) | FOX | 0.95 | 0.97 | -1.6% | n/a | Final Season |
| 22 (22) | The Good Place (O) | NBC | 1.04 | 1.09 | -4.7% | 1.95 | Renewed |
| 23 (23) | The Gifted (O) | FOX | 0.85 | 0.97 | -12.0% | 2.08 | Renewed |
| 24 (24) | The Originals (O) | CW | 0.31 | 0.38 | -19.5% | 0.70 | Final Season |
| 25 (25) | Lucifer | FOX | 0.76 | 0.97 | -20.8% | 1.37 | Renewed |
| 26 (26) | The Last Man on Earth (O) | FOX | 0.76 | 0.97 | -21.3% | n/a | Cancelled |
| 27 (27) | Shadowhunters (O) | Freeform | 0.16 | 0.20 | -21.7% | 0.37 | Final Season |
| 28 (28) | The 100 (O) | CW | 0.30 | 0.38 | -21.7% | 0.68 | Renewed |
| 29 (29) | Stan Against Evil | IFC | 0.06 | 0.08 | -21.9% | n/a | Renewed |
| 30 (30) | MacGyver (O) (F) | CBS | 0.83 | 1.07 | -22.0% | n/a | Renewed |
| 31 (31) | Final Space (O) | TBS | 0.23 | 0.30 | -22.7% | n/a | Renewed |
| 32 (32) | Ghosted (O) | FOX | 0.73 | 0.97 | -24.9% | 0.60 | Cancelled |
| 33 (33) | Van Helsing | Syfy | 0.13 | 0.17 | -25.8% | 0.30 | Renewed |
| 34 (34) | The Librarians | TNT | 0.29 | 0.40 | -27.5% | 0.60 | Cancelled |
| 35 (35) | Mr Robot (O) | USA | 0.22 | 0.30 | -28.0% | 0.44 | Renewed |
| 36 (36) | Into the Badlands (O) | AMC | 0.36 | 0.50 | -28.5% | 0.70 | On the Bubble |
| 37 (37) | Gotham | FOX | 0.68 | 0.97 | -29.4% | 1.38 | Renewed |
| 38 (38) | Wynonna Earp | Syfy | 0.12 | 0.17 | -30.4% | n/a | Renewed |
| 39 (39) | iZombie (O) | CW | 0.24 | 0.38 | -37.8% | 0.50 | Final Season |
| 40 (40) | Reverie (O) | NBC | 0.48 | 0.80 | -40.0% | 0.70 | Cancellation Likely |
| 41 (41) | Timeless (O) | NBC | 0.60 | 1.09 | -45.0% | 1.17 | Cancelled |
| 42 (42) | Colony (O) | USA | 0.16 | 0.30 | -45.6% | 0.38 | Cancelled |
| 43 (44) | The Crossing (O) | ABC | 0.61 | 1.13 | -46.2% | 1.33 | Cancelled |
| 44 (43) | Salvation (O) | CBS | 0.32 | 0.60 | -46.3% | n/a | On the Bubble |
| 45 (45) | The Inhumans (O) (F) | ABC | 0.59 | 1.13 | -48.0% | 1.13 | Cancelled |
| 45 (46) | Kevin Probably Saves the World (O) | ABC | 0.59 | 1.13 | -48.0% | 0.97 | Cancelled |
| 47 (47) | Superstition | Syfy | 0.09 | 0.17 | -48.5% | n/a | Cancelled |
| 48 (48) | Channel Zero (O) | Syfy | 0.09 | 0.17 | -49.0% | n/a | Renewed |
| 49 (49) | Ghost Wars | Syfy | 0.09 | 0.17 | -49.8% | n/a | Cancelled |
| 50 (50) | Preacher (O) | AMC | 0.25 | 0.50 | -51.0% | 0.50 | On the Bubble |
| 51 (51) | Killjoys | Syfy | 0.08 | 0.17 | -52.9% | n/a | Renewed |
| 52 (52) | Counterpart | Starz | 0.09 | 0.20 | -53.0% | n/a | Renewed |
| 53 (53) | Agents of SHIELD (O) (F) | ABC | 0.52 | 1.13 | -53.5% | 1.17 | Renewed |
| 54 (54) | The Shannara Chronicles (O) | Spike | 0.09 | 0.20 | -54.3% | 0.30 | Cancelled |
| 55 (55) | The Exorcist (O) (F) | FOX | 0.42 | 0.97 | -56.5% | 0.60 | Cancelled |
| 56 (56) | Beyond | Freeform | 0.09 | 0.20 | -56.7% | n/a | Cancelled |
| 57 (57) | Once Upon A Time (O) (F) | ABC | 0.46 | 1.13 | -59.3% | 0.99 | Cancelled |
| 58 (58) | The Outpost | CW | 0.12 | 0.30 | -61.1% | n/a | On the Bubble |
| 59 (59) | 12 Monkeys (O) | Syfy | 0.07 | 0.17 | -61.8% | n/a | Final Season |
| 60 (60) | Legion (O) | FX | 0.19 | 0.50 | -62.0% | 0.47 | Renewed |
| 61 (61) | Ash vs Evil Dead | Starz | 0.08 | 0.20 | -62.5% | 5.00 | Cancelled |
| 62 (62) | 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
