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: FOX’s The Orville returned for its second season in late December and pulled a 1.5 rating based on same day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 5.7 million total viewers, getting a boost from NFL Football with a special Sunday airing. That was down from its Season 1 premiere, but still good enough to get the show in the Top 5 Broadcast Networks shows based on the ratings for a slow week. But the show’s Thursday timeslot debut was more concerning. It slipped to only a 0.6 rating with 2.8 million total viewers which is a series low and would rank it among FOX’s lowest rated shows. There was not much competition on the night with ABC running a JFK special and CBS airing repeats in the hour, so the show doesn’t get to opt out with a mulligan. The Orville did perform well in delayed viewing last season, so we will have to see how those numbers play out. But for now I will be keeping a close eye on this one and fans should start making some noise on the social networks in support of the show.
Also on Thursday last week, FOX’s Gotham returned for its fifth and final season. It posted a 0.7 rating with 2.5 million total viewers which was down from its fourth season average. On Tuesday, the Doctor Who New Year’s Eve special posted a 0.27 rating with 983K total viewers for BBC America. On Friday, MacGyver returned steady for CBS at a 0.7 rating with 6.4 million total viewers. On Sunday, Starz’s Counterpart improved slightly but still remains very low at a 0.04 (that’s four one hundredths of a ratings point) and 244K total viewers. That show has never had a large audience, and it will be hard for the network to justify bringing it back at these levels. In the lead-in hour, Outlander improved to a 0.19 rating with 1.2 million total viewers. Over on CBS, God Friended Me Returned down at a 0.9 rating with 7.2 million total viewers, but it will still likely make the Top 25 for the week based on that latter stat.
Most of the other sci fi and fantasy shows are on hiatus, but will be returning in the coming weeks. 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
What’s to watch on the Streaming Services? Click on the following links for a comprehensive list of the Sci Fi TV Shows available on Netflix | Prime Video | Hulu | Other
News Roundup: The CW has ordered a pilot for a Batwoman series based on the character introduced during the Elseworlds cross-over event in Fall. The network will be considering adding that to its lineup of Arrow-verse shows starting in Fall 2019. DC Universe’s upcoming series Doom Patrol has reportedly already been renewed for a second season with an official announcement expected before the show has its debt. Mid-Season has already kicked off and will be bringing over forty new and returning sci fi and fantasy shows. You can see the full rundown of those at this link.
Status Updates: Gotham Is Back for Its Fifth and Final Season
Below are the status updates for 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.
Currently Airing / Streaming:
Arrow (CW, Status – Renewal Likely): With the Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over event (aka Project: Purge the Arrow-verse) scheduled for next season, Arrow looks to be assured to return for an eighth year. Whether that will be the show’s last remains to be seen. I go into more detail on the impact of the Crisis cross-over at this link.
Black Lightning (CW, Status – Renewal Possible): 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 remain low.
Charmed (CW, Status – Renewal Possible): The same day ratings for this show may not be great on highly competitive Sunday nights, but it is one of the most watched shows in digital viewing on the network’s website and app. Since The CW has better adapted to the 21st century than the other broadcast nets, it factors online viewing more heavily into its model, and I would say this show has a good chance at a second season renewal.
Counterpart (Starz, Status – On the Bubble): This show has been well-received by critics but has yet to find much of an audience. Its ratings were low in its first year, and it only survived to a second season because it was renewed in advance. This year it is barely registering in the ratings and I have to consider it very much On the Bubble. It’s possible that Starz has international deals on this one that might prop it up, but if not, fans will have to hope that the second season does not end on a cliffhanger.
The Flash (CW, Status – Renewal Likely): Changes are on the way for The CW’s superhero shows with next year’s Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over event (aka Project: Purge the Arrow-verse). The ratings for The Flash are down year-over-year, but it is still the network’s top-rated show and should be back for a sixth year and more. I go into more detail on the impact of the Crisis cross-over at this link.
The Gifted (FOX, Status – Renewal Possible): This show is at series low numbers and it is not getting the same lift from delayed viewing that it was seeing last year. FOX owns the show and it is part of the X-Men franchise, so that works in its favor. But seeing as it is currently one of the network’s lowest rated shows (and is certainly expensive to produce) it has to be counted as very much On the Bubble and could definitely use a Call to Action from fans.
God Friended Me (CBS, Status – Renewal Possible): This feel-good show’s numbers in the 18-49 demo are just passable, but it continues to rank in the Top 25 based on total viewers each week. It fits in well with the CBS brand and I consider it more likely than not to return for a second year, but we will see how it tracks in the second half of the season with no boost from NFL games.
Gotham (FOX, Status – Final Season): The ratings have been on a downturn for this one the last few seasons, but FOX elected to bring it back for one more year to wrap up up the origin of Batman.
The Good Place (NBC, Status – Renewed): This show received the expected renewal even though its numbers have been down from its second season average. It is still doing well enough for an NBC show on highly competitive Thursday nights and it sees decent gains in delayed viewing, plus it is still drawing some good reviews from critics. Expect another season or two from this one.
Legacies (CW, Status – Renewal Possible): This one has not gotten off to a great start based same day ratings, but it is one of the most watched shows in digital viewing on the network’s website and app. Since The CW has adapted to the 21st century better than the other broadcast nets, it factors online viewing more heavily into its model, and I would say this show has a good chance at a second season renewal.
Legends of Tomorrow (CW, Status – Renewal Possible): This show is at series low levels so far in its fourth season, but I believe it will be back for at least one more year to participate in the Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over event (aka Project: Purge the Arrow-verse). Whether it continues beyond that remains to be seen which I discuss in more detail at this link.
MacGyver (CBS, Status – Renewal Likely): This show’s ratings are down from last year’s levels, 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 show got off to a strong start based on same day viewing early in the Fall, but saw its numbers slip as the season progressed. But it has remained one of the most-watched broadcast network shows based on Live+7 delayed viewing. I would say that its chances for a second season are pretty good unless it takes a nose dive during the second half of the year.
The Orville (FOX, Status – Renewal Possible): This show returned with good ratings for its Season 2 debut, getting a boost from NFL Football with a special Sunday airing. But its first episode in its regular Thursday timeslot dropped to series low levels. Hopefully it will rebound, but fans should start prepping a Call to Action campaign just in case.
Outlander (Starz, Status – Renewed): This show’s number are down in its fourth season, but Starz pays less attention to the same day viewing and more to the total airings for the week plus online viewing. This is an established franchise for the network that performs well overseas and it has already been renewed through a sixth season.
Riverdale (CW, Status – Renewal Likely): This show is only down slightly from 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.
Supergirl (CW, Status – Renewal Possible): This show is down from last season’s numbers, but it has still done quite well for The CW’s first foray into Sunday night programming in a decade, and I expect it to be back to participate in the Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over event (aka Project: Purge the Arrow-verse). Whether the show continues beyond its fifth season remains to be seen which I look at in more detail at this link.
Supernatural (CW, Status – Renewal Possible): This venerable genre entry 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.
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 and maybe gets some support from fans.
The Walking Dead (AMC, Status – Renewal Likely): The post-Rick Grimes era has not led to an improvement in the ratings for this show, but TWD still continues to rank as the top scripted series on cable and also outperforms most broadcast network shows. Expect at least a tenth season from this one if not more.
Season Ended But Still Awaiting Renewal / Cancellation Decision:
Channel Zero (Syfy, Status – Cancellation Likely): By all appearances, this one looks to be a dead show walking. Its ratings have been on a continual decline across its four seasons, and Syfy burned off the fourth year episodes across six consecutive nights outside of Prime Time. The show has stirred up some good buzz and has picked up a small but loyal following, but Syfy has been in the cancelling business of late and it looks like this one could be the next to fall.
The First (Hulu, Status – Renewal Possible): Hulu was probably hoping that this high-profile series would follow in the footsteps of The Handmaid’s Tale and become another acclaimed, must-watch show for the streaming service. But the response has been rather mixed thus far. Still, the streamers tend to give their shows a couple of seasons to prove themselves, so this one could be back for a second year.
The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix, Status – Renewal Possible): This show was promoted as a “limited series”, but the response has been pretty good thus far and Netflix could decided to extend that limited run into a second season.
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.
Mars (NGC, Status – Renewal Possible): This show’s same day viewing numbers were down notably in its second year, but it relies more heavily on its global viewership stats. I consider a third season possible, though Nat Geo may decide to wrap it up at that point.
Nightflyers (Syfy, Status – On the Bubble): This show debuted with passable numbers for a Syfy series, but airing it on consecutive nights did not work in its favor as it was not able to sustain its nightly viewership. It may have done better in digital viewing, but Syfy is apparently keeping those numbers under wraps. A second season is still possible as the network tends to renew freshmen shows to give them a chance to build up an audience, but I consider that very much a tossup at this point which I discuss in more detail at this link.
Origin (YouTube, Status – Renewal Possible): This show has flown under the radar since its debut in November, but it is receiving mostly positive buzz thus far. YouTube is in the early stages of ramping up its scripted programming for its premium service, so it will likely stick by its shows and give this one at least one more season to find an audience.
Stan Against Evil (IFC, Status – Renewal Possible): This show’s numbers were down a bit in its third season, but IFC shows have been surviving on ratings scraps for a while now. It is likely not expensive to produce and has developed somewhat of a cult following, so it could be back for a fourth season.
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