Weekly Roundup: The Nevers Has Good Start on HBO Max, Fear the Walking Dead Returns Down, and More

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 throughout the week, be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site

Ratings Results of Interest

On Sunday, the new supernatural drama The Nevers had its linear premiere on HBO and pulled a 0.10 rating based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 548K total viewers. Those are modest numbers for the premium cable network, but apparently the show performed much better on the digital platform HBO Max. According to Variety, it had 1.4 million viewers total for linear and digital viewing and had the best debut yet for an original series on the new streaming service. It will also pad out its numbers with encore runs and delayed viewing, so this one appears to be off to a decent start.

Over on AMC on Sunday, Fear the Walking Dead returned for the second half of its sixth season but experienced yet another drop in ratings as the Walking Dexit continues for that franchise.  It had a 0.26 rating in the demo with 1.2 million total viewers.  That is down from the 0.35 rating it averaged in Fall, though in line with the Mid-Season finale.  That show has already been renewed for a seventh season, but viewer interest continues to wane.  I continue to believe that next season could be its last, but AMC could decide to pad out the syndication package and keep it going longer.

On Thursday, NBC’s Manifest hit some ratings turbulence as it slipped to a 0.48 score in the demo with 3.2 million total viewers for its second Season 3 episode. That show got off to a good start the prior week, but took a much bigger drop in the ratings than expected this past week, and this one does not get much help from the third season rule. I’m not considering it to be in trouble yet, and I still believe it has a shot for at least a fourth and final season. But we will have to see how it tracks in the overnights in the coming weeks and whether it gets much lift from delayed viewing like it did in past seasons.

On Monday on NBC, Debris improved slightly to a 0.36 rating with 2.4 million total viewers. That show is currently performing below its network’s benchmark and I have it firmly On the Bubble. On Friday on Syfy, Wynonna Earp improved to a 0.06 rating with 278K total viewers for its Season 4 finale. The producers of that show are currently shopping it around as fans lobby for it to return for a fifth season.

Below are the linear numbers for all the sci fi and fantasy entries from the past week. You can see more detailed ratings info for the week at this link.  Be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for the latest results and breaking news.  For more info on what the ratings mean and how I use them to gauge the status of a show, check out our Cancelled Sci Fi FAQ Page.  Ratings Source: ShowBuzzDaily

Ratings Results for the Week of 4/5/21

Sci Fi TV News of Note

CBS announced last week that its spy fi series MacGyver will be coming to an end with its Season 5 finale which will air later this month. That reboot of the 1985 series that starred Richard Dean Anderson has been performing well in the ratings, but there is a lawsuit over the rights to show which may be directly connected to the cancellation . . . Joel Hodgson is starting up another crowdfunding effort to produce more episodes of his movie-riffing series Mystery Science Theater 3000. He previously launched a successful campaign that raised enough money to produce an eleventh season of the show. That was picked up by Netflix as was a twelfth season, but the streaming giant decided not to continue the show beyond that. Hodgson is looking to fund as many as twelve more episodes and create a platform to stream the series, and you can learn more about the campaign at this link. Be sure to follow r/SciFiTV for news, schedule updates, trailers, discussions, and more.

Status Updates of Interest

For the status updates on all of the currently airing shows plus those awaiting word on their fate, go to this link.

Them (Amazon, Streaming 1st Season, Status – Renewal Possible): As with any original series on the streaming services, this show has a decent chance of sticking around for a second season. But don’t expect an extended run because they tend to cap off their shows around the third or fourth season.

Moonbase 8 (Showtime, 1st Season Ended, Status – On the Bubble): Showtime scheduled this one outside of the Prime Time hours and it averaged only a 0.01 rating (one one-hundredth of a rating point) in same-day viewing for its first season. The premium cable channels also pay attention to digital and delayed viewing as well as encore runs, but it is unlikely this one made up much slack there. Moonbase 8 is an independently funded series and likely does not cost the cable channel much, so there is a slight chance it could return, but that appears unlikely.

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