HBO has given a second season renewal to its space-based comedy series Avenue 5. That news comes as a bit of a surprise considering that the show has not performed well in the ratings early in its run, currently averaging only a 0.12 score based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic. It has consistently come in below The Outsider and Curb Your Enthusiasm on Sundays (its lead-in and lead-out shows) so far this season. But then the premium cable channels do not pay as much attention to the same-day viewing because they do not rely on advertising from sponsors who want viewers watching when the episode airs live. Still, the ratings do act as a leading indicator and suggest that the show (which arrived with very little promotion) has not built up much of an audience yet. It may be performing better in delayed and digital viewing, and the premium channels do pay close attention to those stats. The first season will consist of nine episodes and the second should be about the same length.
Avenue 5 takes place on an interplanetary space cruiser that goes off course due to a system failure and finds itself three years away from Earth. The crew must find a way to get the ship and its passengers back while also dealing with limited supplies. It stars Hugh Laurie, Josh Gad, Zach Woods, Rebecca Front, Suzy Nakamura.
There are still several shows from the 2018-19 season that are awaiting word on their fate such as The Terror, and Mars, and I expect announcements on Fall shows like Emergence and The Purge soon. You can see the status of all the currently airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows on our Cancellation Watch Page. And be sure to stay tuned to this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates.
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