Weekly Roundup: 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: With the regular season in the process of wrapping up, there is not too much in the way of ratings results from the past week, but there has been plenty of news on renewals, cancellations, and pickups. Be sure to see the News Roundup section below for that. On Sunday, HBO’s Game of Thrones improved to its best ratings so far in its fifth season, posting a 5.4 rating with 12.5 million total viewers for its penultimate episode. Expect those numbers to move even higher with this Sunday’s series finale.
On Friday, ABC’s Agents of SHIELD returned for its sixth season and pulled a 0.4 rating with 2.3 million total viewers for its premiere. That is down from last year’s numbers, but the show usually makes that up in delayed and digital viewing and has already been renewed for a seventh season. Over on CBS, MacGyver wrapped up its third season with a 0.6 rating and 5.5 million total viewers.
On Thursday, Freeform’s Cloak and Dagger improved just a little bit to a 0.11 rating with 306K total viewers. With the Disney/ABC upfront going on this morning, we may hear word on that show’s fate today. On Wednesday, FX’s What We Do in the Shadows saw a nice improvement to a 0.22 rating with 527K total viewers. That show received it second season renewal notice last week.
On Monday, AMC’s Into the Badlands slipped to a 0.13 rating with 463K total viewers for its series final, but fans are still fighting to save that one. Over on Freeform, Shadowhunters posted just a 0.09 score with 305K total viewers for its two-hour series finale, and that is another one the fans are working hard to save.
The other sci fi and fantasy entries remained mostly steady or did not air new episodes during the week. 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 Upfronts are going on this week when the networks present their schedules to the advertisers and there has been plenty of breaking news leading up to those. FX (now owned by Disney) announced that its horror mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows will be returning for a second season. CBS gave its spy fi series MacGyver the expected fourth season renewal. FOX cancelled its vampire-pocalypse series The Passage after one season but gave a third year renewal to its space dramedy The Orville. Freeform has renewed its dark fantasy series Siren for a third season. NBC has released its Fall schedule and will be holding Manifest to Mid-Season. FOX has released its schedule, also with no genre entries, as The Orville and new AI drama neXT will debut at Mid-Season. ABC has released its Fall schedule and the conspiracy drama Emergence will air on Tuesday nights. And because Disney needs to own more of the world, the Mouse House now has full control of Hulu. We will be tracking breaking news from the Upfronts throughout the week at r/SciFiTV.
Status Updates: Siren Will Swim Into a Third 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:
The 100 (CW, Status – Renewed): This show has returned for its sixth season with decent ratings for a CW entry and has already been renewed for a seventh season.
Arrow (CW, Status – Renewed): This show has been renewed for an 8th season and that will be its last. Expect it to wrap up with next season’s Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over event which will bring major changes to the Arrow-verse.
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.
Cloak and Dagger (Freeform, Status – On the Bubble): This show’s numbers have slipped to dangerous territory the last couple of weeks and are down overall this season. Disney owns Marvel and Freeform, so they could give the show some slack and still bring it back for a third season. But a Call to Action from fans on the social nets could definitely help give it a boost.
A Discovery of Witches (AMC, Status – Renewed): The linear numbers for this show are not great, but it has already been available on the Shudder and SundanceNow streaming services and it has been renewed through a third season by Sky One in Britain.
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.
Game of Thrones (HBO, Status – Final Season): A strong return for this show’s final season makes you wonder if HBO execs are questioning the decision to end this one with its eighth season. But they have several spin-offs on the way, so the network is not done with this franchise yet.
Happy (Syfy, Status – On the Bubble): The numbers for this show remain low in its second season and have it at levels that have seen other Syfy entries cancelled. The network’s parent company does have an ownership stake in the show, though, so it still has a chance. Fans should definitely take to the social nets with a Call to Action to bring more attention to this one.
Into the Badlands (AMC, Status – Cancelled): This show has wrapped up its three season run, though it has definitely picked up a fan following that appears to span across the globe If fans can stage a Call to Action on the social networks and make enough noise (it is currently in second place in our season end poll), perhaps they can convince AMC to change its mind about the cancellation or another venue to pick the show up.
iZombie (CW, Status – Final Season): While never a strong ratings contender for The CW, iZombie has had a devoted following and the network is given it one finale season to wrap up its storylines.
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 – Renewed): This show’s ratings were down from last year’s levels, but as expected that did not matter and it got the fourth season renewal. It is owned by CBS and one more year gets it to the episode threshold the syndication market prefers (where shows really start to turn a profit). But don’t be surprised if this one ends with its fourth or fifth 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.
Shadowhunters (Freeform, Status – Cancelled): This show has been cancelled by Freeform after experiencing a ratings slide in its third season, but fans are working hard to save the show and it currently leads our season end poll.
Siren (Freeform, Status – Renewd): This show started its second season with decent debut numbers, but then saw those slip somewhat. But apparently Disney and Freeform still have faith in the show and have given it a third season renewal. It returns from hiatus on July 11th.
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, but it will finally be coming to an end with that announced as its final year. More on that at this link.
What We Do in the Shadows (FX, Status – Renewed): This show’s numbers slipped notably after its first couple of episodes, but it does make up some of the slack with delayed viewing and FX has given this one a second season renewal.
Season Ended But Still Awaiting Renewal / Cancellation Decision:
Deadly Class (Syfy, Status – Renewal Possible): This show got off to a decent start, but then saw its numbers slip in subsequent weeks. But it still did okay overall for a Syfy entry, especially with its delayed viewing numbers, and the network’s parent company NBC Universal has an ownership stake in the show. It has a chance at coming back for a second season, but fans may want to make a Call to Action on the social nets to give it a boost.
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.
The Orville (FOX, Status – Renewed): Despite the ratings drop-off from last year and the Disney buyout of FOX properties (this one now joins the Mouse House), this show remains standing (after some late-night deal-making) and will be returning at Mid-Season next year for a third season run.
The Passage (FOX, Status – Cancelled): This show got off to a good start with its premiere, but it wrapped up its first season with less than stellar numbers. If not for the Disney buyout and the fact that FOX will have less hours on its schedule next year for scripted programming, this one might have come back for a second season. But it ended up getting swept out with the house-cleaning and will leave its story unfinished.
You can see the list of all of this season’s renewals and cancellations at this link.
PREVIOUS POST: Cloak and Dagger is Struggling, The Orville Moves to Bubble Status READ
More from CancelledSciFi.com:
Follow our Sci Fi TV News Briefs column for a rundown of the latest news and our Sci Fi TV Development column for updates on what is in development.
Check out our Sci Fi TV Schedule for debut and season finale dates and follow our Weekly Listings for a rundown of the shows airing in the current week.
Look back at the classics of sci fi and fantasy television with Classics Sci Fi TV.
