Ratings results and status updates on all the currently airing sci fi & fantasy shows as well as those still awaiting word on their fates. For the latest ratings updates, be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site

Ratings Results of Interest: Manifest Slips But Not Much, The Good Place Returns Down

Ratings Results of Interest: Last night, NBC’s Manifest slipped from its debut numbers, posting a 1.8 rating based on same day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 8.5 million total viewers (according to the preliminaries). That’s an 18% decline from last week, but not bad for a post-premiere drop and it only lost 14% from The Voice in the lead-in hour. These days, broadcast network executives are more than happy with anything above a 1.5 and will even tolerate lower numbers if they have confidence in the show. We will have to see how this one tracks over the next few weeks, but it is definitely holding up to its promising start at this point.

On Tuesday of last week, FOX’s X-Men spin-off series The Gifted returned for its second season and posted 0.9 rating with 2.6 million total viewers. That’s not a great start and the show is down by 11% from its first season average, but its not time to push the panic button yet on this one as I go into in more detail at this link. Over on USA on Tuesday, The Purge held at a 0.44 rating with 1.1 million total viewers and again placed at Number 4 for the evening among cable shows. On Wednesday, FX’s American Horror Story slipped to a 0.92 rating with 1.9 million total viewers, but that was still the highest rated cable show for the evening.

On Thursday, NBC’s The Good Place had a 1.0 rating with 3.1 million total viewers for its third season premiere. That’s down 11% from its second season average, but if it holds in this range it should be good enough for a Thursday show on that network. On Friday, MacGyver returned for its third season on CBS but only managed a 0.7 rating with 5.8 million total viewers. That’s down by 16% from its second season average, but the show is likely still safe. It is owned by CBS and it is in the syndication stretch (more on that below), so it will almost certainly come back for at least one more season. Over on Syfy, Wynonna Earp slipped to a 0.10 rating with 364K total viewers for its double-episode season finale, but that one has already been renewed for a fourth season. On Cinemax, The Outcast improved to a 0.05 rating with 108K total viewers for season finale (which will almost certainly be its series finale).

On Sunday, God Friended Me debuted for CBS and posted a 1.3 rating with 10.1 million viewers for its series premiere. Those are decent numbers for CBS on a Sunday night, but the show got a boost from NFL overrun and 60 Minutes. Still, if this one can hold at or above a 1.0 rating, it could survive to a second season. Over on AMC, Fear the Walking Dead edged up to a 0.71 rating with 2.1 million total viewers for its season finale. That one returns next year for its fifth season. No numbers for TNT’s The Last Ship again (they listed their lineup as repeats last week and probably did again this week), but those will be posted when available.

You can see the full ratings results for the week at this link, and be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for the latest results and breaking news.  Ratings Source: ShowBuzzDaily

The Fall 2018 Season is upon us and brings more than forty new and returning sci fi and fantasy television shows.  See our full rundown of the shows at this link and the full schedule at this link.

News Roundup: Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb has said that a second season of Netflix’s The Defenders team-up series could still happen and possibly include other superheroes. Amazon has given a series order for The Wheel of Time based on the fantasy books by Robert Jordan. Neflix has plans to make some of its shows interactive, allowing the viewer to chose the ending, and Black Mirror is included in that.

Status Updates: MacGyver Should Be Safe Through Its Fourth Season

Below is the status of all the currently airing shows or those still awaiting word on their fate.  This does not include streaming shows, unless there is information worth mentioning, because there is typically too little data available to gauge their fates. You can click through to the show pages to see week-over-week ratings results (where available) and find out more information about the series.  You can see the status of all the currently airing and returning sci fi TV shows at the Cancellation Watch Page.

American Horror Story (FX, Status – Renewed): This show has returned with decent debut numbers for its eighth season and remains one of the highest rated cable shows on television. FX has already renewed it through its tenth season and could keep it around longer if it continues to draw strong viewership.

Fear the Walking Dead (AMC, Status – Renewed): After getting off to a strong start in its fourth season, the ratings trended downward for this one, but AMC still renewed it for a fifth year.  That does not come as a huge surprise because it is still one of the highest rated cable shows, and the network is likely targeting at least six seasons total for this one to get it to a syndication friendly count of episodes.

God Friended Me (CBS, Status – Renewal Possible): This show had a decent debut for a CBS Sunday series, though it did get a boost from NFL overrun and 60 Minutes. But, if it can hold at or above a 1.0 rating and/or stay in the Top 25 based on total viewers, it could survive to a second season.

The Good Place (NBC, Status – Renewal Possible): This show returned down from its second season average, but it is still doing well enough for an NBC show on Thursday nights. If it does not slip too much, it should be okay.

The Gifted (FOX, Status – Renewal Possible): This show returned down from its first season numbers, but it is too early to determine if that is a bad thing. We will have to see how it compares to the performance of FOX’s other programming and if it manages to make it into the Top 25 based on delayed viewing like it did last year. I will keep a close eye on this one over the next few weeks.

Humans (AMC, Status – On the Bubble): This show’s numbers were down in its third season, and AMC kicked it out of Prime Time to the 11 PM hour; never a good sign. Its fate is more closely tied to how it is performing in Britain on Channel 4, but its numbers are down over there as well according to Wikipedia. I have moved it to Bubble status and will keep it there until we hear final word on its fate.

Into the Badlands (AMC, Status – On the Bubble): This show wrapped up the first half of its third season in June and there is still no word on when it will be back, leading me to wonder if AMC has given up on it (more on that at this link).  Its ratings are down over fifty percent from its second year and it remains firmly On the Bubble at this point. Fans should definitely make a Call to Action on the social networks to show that it has a loyal following.

The Last Ship (TNT, Status – Final Season): This show has had a decent run for TNT, but its numbers have dropped off the last couple of years. The network did decide to bring it back for a fifth and final season to give it a chance to wrap up its storylines.

MacGyver (CBS, Status – Renewal Possible): This show has returned down from last year’s numbers, but that may not matter. It is owned by CBS and it will have three full seasons after this year, so it is worth it to the network to keep it going at least one more season to get it to the episode threshold the syndication market prefers. Also, it plugs up and hour on low-viewership Fridays.

Manifest (NBC, Status – Renewal Possible): This one pulled very strong numbers for its series premiere and experienced only a modest drop in its second week.  If it can hold at or above a 1.5 rating, then this one will certainly fly right into a second season.

Outcast (MAX, Status – Cancellation Likely): This show has wrapped up its second season and is almost certainly done since the contracts for the actors lapsed last year. The network had indicated that if viewership was strong enough for the second season in the U.S. that they could try to get the cast back. But it barely registered in the ratings (averaging only a 0.03 score), so it appears to be finished.

The Outpost (CW, Status – On the Bubble): The numbers for this one have been low even for a CW series, but as an acquisition to fill up space on the Summer schedule it’s not necessarily doomed. If it does well internationally and if it does not cost the network too much, it could be back for another season.

The Purge (USA, Status – Renewal Possible): The debut numbers for this show were good, and it has not suffered too much from the loss curious onlookers after the first episode. USA has billed this one as a “10-Episode Television Event”, but if the ratings hold around current levels the network may extend that.

Preacher (AMC, Status – On the Bubble): This show has wrapped its third season with ratings down by close to 40% from last year and I already considered it on iffy ground then. I have it On the Bubble and fans should definitely take to the social networks if they want this one to survive to a fourth season.

Reverie (NBC, Status – Cancellation Likely): This show has wrapped up its first season and is now awaiting word on its fate.  It was originally planned for a mid-season start, but was pushed on the schedule suggesting that the network lost faith in it. Its numbers were pretty low even for a Summer entry, and it didn’t seem to generate much activity on the social networks. If there are any fans out there, they need to make some noise on the social nets RIGHT NOW to draw attention to the show, otherwise it seems certainly set for a date with the Network Executioner.

Salvation (CBS, Status – On the Bubble): This show’s numbers remained low through its now completed second season as do it chances of surviving to a third year. It has a streaming deal that likely makes it profitable for the network, but CBS may prefer to fill the hour with something that will draw more viewers watching live. I consider it firmly On the Bubble as we wait to hear word on the show’s fate.

Wynonna Earp (Syfy, Status – Renewed): This show performed mostly even with last year’s numbers, and is one of the few shows not experiencing year-over-year declines. But those numbers are still pretty low, and fans should definitely remain active on the social networks to help expand the audience beyond its cult following when it returns next year for its fourth season.

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