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
It was a big premiere week for The CW’s shows, but they are following a trend we are seeing with most other returning shows. This season’s ratings are about in line with their prior season averages, but their premiere numbers are down year over year. And since the numbers typically drop after premiere week, that means we haven’t seen them bottom out yet. But these days it is much more important to gauge a show’s status based on where it stands against its own network’s programming, so the early numbers at least give us an indication of how they will track against like shows during the season.
On Sunday, Supergirl led the charge for The CW’s return to Sunday nights and posted a 0.5 rating based on same day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 1.5 million total viewers. That is down notably from the 0.9 rating the show for last season’s debut, but in line with its average last year and good for its competitive timeslot. In the lead-out hour, Charmed pulled a 0.5 rating with 1.6 million total viewers for its debut. I’m guessing the network hoped for better numbers from this high-profile reboot, but it should be happy with how both of its shows performed on an overoaded Sunday.
Over on the cable nets, BBC America’s Doctor Who slipped a bit to a 0.42 rating based on the demo with 1.1 million total viewers. Those are still pretty good numbers for that show and the curious onlooker effect does not appear to have impacted it yet. On AMC, the Walking Dexit continues as TWD slipped to a 2.0 rating with 4.9 million total viewers, marking an all-time series low for the show. I don’t expect it to be cancelled this year, but its long-term prospects have definitely shifted and I will look at that in more detail in an upcoming post. Over on Disney, Star Wars: Resistance improved slightly to a 0.09 rating with 471K total viewers. That show could stick around if it is pulling in decent money from its merchandising.
On Friday, Syfy’s Z Nation took a notable drop to a 0.14 rating with 511K total viewers, though I still believe that one will get at least one more season to get it to a syndication friendly count of episodes. Van Helsing improved to a 0.13 rating with 479K total viewers, and if it can hold around that level, plus get support from its fans on the social nets, then it might make it to a fourth season. Over on CBS, MacGyver improved to a 0.8 rating with 6.2 million total viewers and that one is almost certainly safe for a fourth season renewal because it is in the syndication stretch.
On Thursday, The CW’s Supernatural returned for its 14th season and posted a 0.5 rating with 1.5 million total viewers. That is down a little from its average last year, but not by too much and this one is performing well enough for the fifth place network. Over on NBC, The Good Place dropped again to a 0.8 rating with 2.7 million total viewers. But it is performing on par with the network’s other Thursday comedies so it could still be okay.
On Wednesday, The CW’s Riverdale returned with a 0.5 rating and 1.5 million total viewers. That is down from the 0.8 score it had for its Season 2 bow, but even with its average last year. This show performs very well in its encore run on Netflix and gets plenty of boost on the social nets, so consider it likely to get a fourth season renewal. On FX, American Horror Story held at a 1.0 rating with 2.1 million total viewers and also led the night among cable shows.
On Tuesday, The CW’s The Flash returned for its fifth season and posted a 0.8 rating with 2.1 million total viewers. That is down 27% from its debut last year, but is in line with its Season 4 average and it remains the top-rated show on the network. Expect this one to likely race into a sixth season. Black Lightning also returned that night and posted a 0.4 rating with 1.2 million total viewers. That’s down by 50% from its series debut and almost 30% from last year’s average, so this one could find itself in an iffy position considering it is only a second season show. Over on FOX, The Gifted remained low at a 0.7 rating with 2.1 million total viewers and it will be moving to Bubble status if it does not improve soon.
The preliminary numbers from yesterday show that NBC’s Manifest slipped just a bit to a 1.5 rating with 7.5 million total viewers. That still has the show at a decent cruising altitude and I expect this one to get a full season pickup at any point now.
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: The CW announced last week that its Summer series The Outpost will be returning next year for a second season. Netflix and Marvel put out a joint announcement that Iron Fist will not be returning for a third season, though they indicated that the character might be back at some point. Stephen Amell has claimed that the seventh season of Arrow is not necessarily the last for that show because he is contracted for at least one more year. In development announcements, CBS is working on a series based on the DC Comic Secret Six and NBC has started development on The Last American Vampire based on the Seth Grahame-Smith novel.
Status Updates: Black Lightning Is Looking Vulnerable
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.
Black Lightning (CW, Status – Renewal Likely): The numbers are down for this show in its second year and it will not have too many episodes under its belt by season end. The CW prefers to renew shows rather than cancel them, but with the waning popularity of its superhero entries, this one could be the first casualty if its ratings continue to slip.
Charmed (CW, Status – Renewal Possible): The CW might have hoped that this would have been their next big thing, but the early ratings are not that good. Still, it performed quite well in its highly competitive Sunday night timeslot and should charm its way to a second season if it does not slip too much.
Doctor Who (BBCA, Status – Renewal Likely): This show is off to a strong start with the thirteenth Doctor (played by Jodie Whitakker) drawing in plenty of viewers to see the first female lead for the series. Expect the numbers to slip after the curious onlooker effect passes, but also expect this show to stick around for several more years.
The Flash (CW, Status – Renewal Likely): The momentum for this one has slowed some with its continued ratings declines, but it is still the network’s top-rated show and it should race right into a sixth season.
The Gifted (FOX, Status – Renewal Possible): The ratings are not tracking strong for this show early in the season, but it tends to do better in delayed viewing. If it can make it into the Top 25 based on the Live+7 numbers (we haven’t seen any delayed viewing stats for the season yet), then it might be okay.
God Friended Me (CBS, Status – Renewal Possible): This show is doing quite well for CBS on highly competitive Sundays and has ranked in the Top 25 based on total viewers each week. If it can continue to post good total viewers stats (older-skewing CBS tends to give more weight to those numbers), then it may 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.
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 Likely): This show has returned down from last year’s numbers, but that likely will 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 has experienced only a modest drop since then. If it can hold at or above a 1.5 rating, then it will almost certainly fly right into a second season.
The Outpost (CW, Status – Renewed): The numbers for this one were low even for a CW series, but as an acquisition to fill up space on the Summer schedule apparently it did well enough because it will be returning for a second 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 of 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.
Riverdale (CW, Status – Renewal Likely): This show has returned about on par with last year’s numbers and it tends to get plenty of attention on the social networks. It also performs very well in its encore runs on Netflix and is on the verge of the syndication stretch. Expect it to be back for at least one more season if not more.
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.
Star Wars Resistance (Disney, Status – Renewal Possible): This show’s numbers are on the low side, but then animated series tend to live and die more by their merchandising than overnight ratings results. This one could stick around for a few seasons if it sells enough toys.
Supergirl (CW, Status – Renewal Possible): This show returned close to last season’s average and also did quite well for The CW’s first foray into Sunday night programming in a decade, especially considering how competitive that night is. If it doesn’t drop too much in the coming weeks, and if the network remains committed to its Arrow-verse shows, this one should soar into a fifth season.
Supernatural (CW, Status – Renewal Possible): This venerable genre entry has returned even with its average from last season and it remains one of the better-rated shows on The CW. The network boss has already said that this one will continue as long as the lead actors want to stay with the show, so whether it has a fifteenth season is largely up to them.
Van Helsing (Syfy, Status – Renewal Possible): This show improved some in its second week which keeps it from getting downgraded to Bubble status. Since it is a third year show not owned by Syfy (the network tends to cancel those, more on that at this link), it needs to keep its numbers at least at the current levels and fans need to make some noise on the social networks supporting it.
The Walking Dead (AMC, Status – Renewal Likely): This show is now down to series low levels and its ratings woes have caused AMC’s stock to slip. It is still one of the highest-rated series on television, but network bosses won’t like the fact that it is dragging down the stock prices. It won’t be cancelled this year, but it may be ending sooner rather than later which I will look at in more detail in an upcoming post.
Z Nation (Syfy, Status – Renewal Possible): This show returned for its fifth season with numbers slightly higher than its fourth year average but then saw those drop. It is inexpensive to produce and a sixth season gets it to a good episode count for a syndication run, though, so I would bet on it sticking around for another year at this point.
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