FOX’s X-Men spin-off series The Gifted premiered last season with decent, though not spectacular numbers, and ended up pulling in moderate ratings through its first year based on same day viewing. It did see notable gains in delayed viewing, though, and typically ended in the Top 25 each week based on the metric. But in its second season, the show has returned down from its first year average based on the live broadcasts and has seen its numbers slip over the past few weeks. It has only managed a 0.6 score the last two weeks, and it is currently the network’s second lowest rated scripted series. To make matters worse, it has not received much lift from delayed viewing and has not placed in the Top 25 this year based on the limited data available for that metric.
All of that boils down to the fact that The Gifted is currently in trouble and its prospects for a third season renewal do not look good. This one is expensive to produce, and if it is not drawing enough viewers FOX will have a hard time justifying keeping it around. It is owned by the network and it’s part of the X-Men franchise, though, so that could help its chances. ABC has kept Agents of SHIELD around despite low ratings because it is tied to the Marvel Universe movies (Disney owns both ABC and Marvel), though that one regularly comes in at or around the Top 25 based on Live+7 viewing. Perhaps FOX could keep The Gifted around for another season, but I’m not liking its chances at the moment.
A surge of support from fans could potentially help the show. This one generated some activity on the social networks last year, and those fans could make a push to give it a boost in its current run. That could draw more attention to the show and FOX previously cited “stickiness” in the social networks for keeping low-rated Scream Queens around for a second season. Without that, though, this show may be headed to the Network Executioner. So if fans want this one to stick around, a Call to Action is needed right now.
The Fall season is now in full swing so stay tuned for updates and announcements to be made over the next month or so. Plus, there are still several Summer and Spring shows that we are waiting to hear word on such as Humans, Into the Badlands, and Reverie. Be sure to stay tuned to this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news as well as the latest ratings results.
