This post has been updated for the recent cancellations of Happy! and Deadly Class.
The regular season is over and Syfy, the network that is supposed to be dedicated to sci fi and fantasy shows, did not not have a great year with ratings down notably and most of its shows cancelled (which includes the most recent announcements). The network aired seven scripted shows starting from September 2018 with five of those ending up getting cancelled. Here are the shows that aired on the network this past season with their status:
Syfy Shows (Sorted by Status):
| Series | Network | Status |
| Channel Zero | Syfy | Cancelled |
| Deadly Class | Syfy | Cancelled |
| Happy | Syfy | Cancelled |
| Nightflyers | Syfy | Cancelled |
| Z Nation | Syfy | Cancelled |
| The Magicians | Syfy | Renewed |
| Van Helsing | Syfy | Renewed |
Since the 2014-15, the network has aired 28 scripted shows (see full list below) and only six of those are still active including Krypton (returning in Summer for its second season), and Wynonna Earp (which is in limbo due to the financial struggles of its production company). That leaves only The Magicians and Van Helsing as shows with a renewal beyond the 2018-19 season.
Over the past five seasons, the network’s same day ratings have dropped each year with a total decline of 48% from the 2014-15 season to the 2018-19 season. And for the current season, Syfy’s average same day ratings for its scripted shows is only a 0.12 score. That’s twelve one hundredths for a ratings point! And don’t start talking to me about delayed viewing because the network is still very much old school in its thinking. The success of a show often depends on the advertising revenue it can get for the live broadcasts, and that is driven by the same day ratings. Dark Matter and The Expanse were infamously cancelled because their same day ratings were not good enough to bring in sufficient advertising revenue.
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Here is the rundown of the network’s average ratings performance over the past five seasons (click to enlarge the chart) including the highest rated and lowest rated shows each season (I also included The Expanse in the chart to show that it performed at or above the network average during its three seasons):
| Season | Network Avg | % Chg from Prior | Highest Rated Series | Avg | Lowest Rated Series | Avg |
| 2014-15 | 0.24 | 0.0% | Z Nation | 0.48 | Olympus | 0.15 |
| 2015-16 | 0.18 | -24.0% | Childhood’s End | 0.36 | Hunters | 0.08 |
| 2016-17 | 0.18 | -0.6% | The Magicians | 0.31 | 12 Monkeys | 0.09 |
| 2017-18 | 0.16 | -10.7% | The Magicians | 0.26 | Ghost Wars | 0.09 |
| 2018-19 | 0.12 | -23.4% | The Magicians | 0.19 | Channel Zero | 0.07 |
The numbers keep going down for the network including for its highest rated shows, and it is essentially surviving on ratings scraps at this point. And since advertising revenue for same day viewing is important to the success of the shows it airs, that’s definitely not a good thing. The network has also done a poor job of working out streaming deals for its shows which makes it harder for them to draw in supplemental revenue from those venues. Syfy previously did a good job of partnering with international networks, particularly those up north in Canada. But we are seeing much less of that these days.
Another important thing to note is that no original scripted show has ever run for more than five seasons on Syfy. Stargate: SG-1 did have ten total, but only the last half of its run aired on sci fi. Five appears to be the cap for series (bad news for The Magicians heading into next year), and eighteen of the 28 mentioned above have gone three seasons or less (ten have only had one season). Fans have believed for a long time that this network does not support its shows, and the numbers surely reinforce that. And many refuse to get invested in new Syfy shows because because of the network’s poor track record.
There was a time when Syfy was considered a leader in original content for sci fi & fantasy, back when it was the home of Farscape, the Stargate franchise, and the Battlestar: Galactica reboot. But those shows had mostly faded by the end of the 00’s, and the network tried to rebrand and expand its audience in 2009. That worked for a while, but couldn’t sustain viewership and the backlash from the ‘sci fi lite’ shows that followed after the rebranding appears to have done more to hurt the network in the long run.
Syfy tried to backtrack and return to its sci fi roots around the 2014-15 season. But lately the network has been following a spaghetti-against-the-wall strategy of throwing different shows out there hoping one will stick as the next Walking Dead or Game of Thrones. But that has failed to produce a hit for the network and the constant cancellations continue to anger those who do tune in for Syfy’s shows. In addition, it appears to be changing its strategy again as it going for known properties such as The Magicians (based on a book series) and Deadly Class (based on a comic), with few of its current shows have much in the way of science fiction
The sci fi community in general has shunned the network, starting with the rebranding and expedited with the cancellations of fan-favorite shows like Dark Matter and The Expanse. And with the target audience turning away from the network, plus the overall ratings drying up, there is definitely a question of how much longer Syfy can remain viable. The network has not adjusted to the modern audience, and it is offering less and less that sci fi fans are even interested in.
Chiller shuttered its doors in in 2017, and that network was also owned by NBCUniversal. Quite a number of the cable channels are turning away from scripted programming knowing that they cannot compete with higher budgets that the streaming services and premium cable channels are pumping into their shows. At the least, it surely seems that Syfy is no longer competitive with its scripted originals. It would not be surprising if those faded from the network in the next couple of years or so, and surely seems possible that Syfy could become another Peak TV casualty and close down shop just like Chiller.
Syfy Shows from the 2014-15 Season to Present:
| Series | Status | Seasons | Last Aired |
| 12 Monkeys | Ended | 4 | 2018 |
| Aftermath | Cancelled | 1 | 2016 |
| Bitten | Ended | 3 | 2016 |
| Blood Drive | Cancelled | 1 | 2017 |
| Channel Zero | Cancelled | 4 | 2019 |
| Childhoods End | Ended | 1 | 2015 |
| Continuum | Ended | 4 | 2015 |
| Dark Matter | Cancelled | 3 | 2017 |
| Deadly Class | Cancelled | 1 | 2019 |
| Defiance | Cancelled | 3 | 2015 |
| Dominion | Cancelled | 2 | 2015 |
| Ghost Wars | Cancelled | 1 | 2018 |
| Happy | Cancelled | 2 | 2019 |
| Haven | Cancelled | 5 | 2015 |
| Helix | Cancelled | 2 | 2015 |
| Hunters | Cancelled | 1 | 2016 |
| Incorporated | Cancelled | 1 | 2017 |
| Killjoys | Final Season | 5 | 2019 |
| Krypton | Renewed | 2 | 2018 |
| Lost Girl | Ended | 5 | 2015 |
| Nightflyers | Cancelled | 1 | 2018 |
| Olympus | Cancelled | 1 | 2015 |
| Superstition | Cancelled | 1 | 2018 |
| The Expanse | Cancelled | 3 | 2018 |
| The Magicians | Renewed | 5 | 2019 |
| Van Helsing | Renewed | 4 | 2018 |
| Wynonna Earp | Renewed | 4 | 2018 |
| Z Nation | Cancelled | 5 | 2018 |
More Season Roundup Coverage:
List of all the Cancellations and Renewals from the 2018-19 Season
Final Scorecard for the Regular Season, Game of Thrones Sit Atop the Rankings
Scoring This Season’s Predictions for Shows Like The Orville, The Gifted, Z Nation, and More
A Look at How This Year’s Sci Fi and Fantasy Shows Did on the Linear Networks and Streaming Channels
First Look at neXt, Batwoman, Evil, and More of the Upcoming Season’s New Shows (with Trailers)
First Look at the Fall 2019 Slate of Sci Fi and Fantasy Shows
Roundup of the Renewals, Cancellations, Pickups, and Schedule Announcements from the Upfronts
More from CancelledSciFi.com:
Keep up with the ratings developments and the status of all the currently airing sci fi and fantasy shows with our Weekly Roundup posts. Join the #CancelledSciFiArmy on Twitter to bolster our ranks and help us fight for the struggling and cancelled sci fi and fantasy shows.
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.
A look back at forgotten magic and hidden treasures from the worlds of sci fi and fantasy TV with Sci Fi TV Genre Gems.