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: On Sunday, AMC’s The Walking Dead returned with its Mid-Season premiere and posted a 2.0 rating based on same day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 5.2 million total viewers. That’s up slightly from its Fall finale, but counts as the lowest rated Mid-Season bow for the show across its nine seasons. But it is still one of the top-rated scripted shows on television and it has been renewed for a tenth season. Over on Disney, Star Wars: Resistance improved a tick to a 0.08 rating with 423K total viewers, while on Starz Counterpart slipped to a 0.06 score with 207K total viewers.
On Thursday, Freeform’s Siren dropped by a third from the prior week pulling a 0.14 rating with 424K total viewers. That may just be a blip, though, and we will see how it tracks in the coming weeks. Over on The CW, Supernatural improved to a 0.5 rating with 1.6 million total viewers while Legacies improved to a 0.4 score with 1.1 million total viewers. Gotham and The Orville were in repeats on FOX.
On Wednesday, Syfy’s The Magicians improved a tick to a 0.20 rating with 615K total viewers while Deadly Class improved to a 0.19 rating with 516K total viewers. The former show has already been renewed and the latter looks to be on track for a second season pickup. On Tuesday, Project Blue Book slipped to a 0.25 rating with 1.4 million total viewers, but that one continues to see notable gains from delayed viewing. The CW’s shows remained steady with the prior week while The Gifted was preempted for a second week in a row.
I covered last Monday’s shows in the prior Weekly Roundup post. And the other sci fi and fantasy shows remained mostly steady or did not air new episodes. 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 TCAs continued this past week, when the network bosses address the television critics, and there has been plenty of noteworthy news coming from that. AMC has cancelled its post-apocalyptic martial arts series Into the Badlands and that one will end after airing the remaining eight episodes of its third season. Starz has decided not to bring back its parallel-Earth series Counterpart for a third season, but its production company is shopping it around. The History Channel has renewed its UFO-investigation drama Project Blue Book for a second season after it has performed well so far in its first year. Hulu has expressed an interest in picking up Netflix’s cancelled Marvel shows if a deal can be worked out with Disney. ABC has decided not to move forward with the series it was developing that would have centered around a female-led group of Marvel superheroes. In development news, Netflix has picked up the Spanish-language superhero series El Vecino and an anthology series based on the EC comic Weird Fantasy is in the works. You can read more about those and more development at this link.
Status Updates: Counterpart and Into the Badlands Have Been Cancelled, Project Blue Book Has Been Renewed
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 – Renewed): As expected, this show has been renewed for an 8th season. It could be targeting wrapping up with next season’s Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over event which I discuss in more detail at this link.
Black Lightning (CW, Status – Renewed): Though it wasn’t a sure thing, this show has been renewed for third season. It could get folded into the Arrow-verse during next season’s Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over event which I discuss in more detail at this link.
Charmed (CW, Status – Renewed): 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 has given this one a second season renewal.
Counterpart (Starz, Status – Cancelled): As expected, Starz has decided not to bring this show back for a third season. But its production company is currently shopping it around to other venues, and it could definitely use a Call to Action from fans on the social networks to boost its prospects.
Deadly Class (Syfy, Status – Renewal Possible): This show is currently performing well for a Syfy series as it is their second highest rated show of the season. It looks to be on track for a second year renewal.
The Flash (CW, Status – Renewed): As expected, this show has been renewed for an 6th season. There could be some changes coming with next season’s Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over event which I discuss in more detail at this link.
The Gifted (FOX, Status – Renewal Possible): This show is down notably year over year 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 – Renewed): As expected, this show has been renewed for a second season . Its numbers in the 18-49 demo are just passable, but it continues to rank in the Top 25 based on total viewers each week and it fits in well with the CBS brand.
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 Batman’s origin story.
Into the Badlands (AMC, Status – Cancelled): The good news is that this show will be returning to the schedule on March 24th. The bad news is that the remaining Season 3 episodes will be its last. After remaining silent on the status of the show since it wrap up the first half of its third season last June, AMC has announced that it will not be returning for a fourth year.
Legacies (CW, Status – Renewed): The same day rating for his one have not been great in its first season, 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 has renewed this show for a second season.
Legends of Tomorrow (CW, Status – Renewed): As expected, this show has been renewed for an 5th season. It could be targeting wrapping up with next season’s Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over event 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.
The Magicians (Syfy, Status – Renewed): This show’s fourth season debut was down from last year’s numbers, but it is still the highest rated show on Syfy overall. It has already been renewed for a fifth season, so it is safe for at least one more year.
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. Rumor is that NBC has already renewed the show for a second season, but I am currently waiting for an official announcement.
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 numbers are down in its regular Thursday timeslot. It continues to perform well in Live+7 delayed viewing like last year, but fans might want to start prepping a Call to Action campaign just in case.
The Passage (FOX, Status – Renewal Possible): This show got off to a good start with it premiere, but its numbers have slipped since then. If it does not drop any further, though, it could stick around for a second season.
Project Blue Book (History, Status – Renewed): This show got off to a decent start for a cable series these days and has been able to hold on to its audience through the first few weeks of its first season. And as expected, the History Channel has renewed this one for a second season.
Riverdale (CW, Status – Renewed): 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. The CW has renewed it for a fourth season as expected and it could stick around beyond that.
Roswell New Mexico (CW, Status – Renewal Possible): This one has started out with decent numbers for the fifth place network and I expect it will also perform well in digital viewing. It did not get included with the network’s renewal of its Fall shows, but it just joined the schedule and looks to be on target for a second season nod.
Siren (Freeform, Status – Renewal Possible): This show’s second season debut was slightly higher than its ratings average from its first year which definitely counts as a win in the current ratings-challenged environment. If it does not slip too much in the coming weeks, then a third season renewal looks like a good bet.
Supergirl (CW, Status – Renewed): As expected, this show has been renewed for an 5th season. There could be some changes coming with next season’s Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over event which I discuss in more detail at this link.
Supernatural (CW, Status – Renewed): As expected, this series has been renewed for a record-busting 15th series. Whether it continues beyond that will depend upon whether the principal actors will want to stick with the show.
Star Wars Resistance (Disney, Status – Renewed): 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. It has been renewed for a second season that will debut in Fall 2019.
The Walking Dead (AMC, Status – Renewed): 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. Coming as no surprise, AMC has renewed this one for a tenth season.
Season Ended But Still Awaiting Renewal / Cancellation Decision:
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.
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.
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