Sci Fi TV Update: Status updates, news, and developments on sci fi and fantasy television. For breaking news, be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site
Digital Ratings
Disney+’s Loki remained at the top of the streaming originals chart for a second week and Manifest posted its third week in a row at the top of the list for acquired shows. Both shows have been in the charts for three weeks in a row with the former posting an estimated 713 million minutes of viewing for the week of June 21st to 26th, and the latter topping two billion minutes for the second week. Loki will be returning for a second season and the cancelled status of Manifest may be changing (more on that below). Netflix’s Lucifer remained at the Number 2 slot in the streaming originals chart while Sweet Tooth (Netflix) slipped to Number 5 and The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu) slipped to Number 7.
Supernatural remained a fixture in the Top 10 acquired shows for its encore run on Netflix, improving to Number 8 for the week. And Black Lightning entered the charts at Number 10. That show wrapped up its four-year run on The CW this past season and was typically one the lower-rated Arrow-verse entries. But it still has some life with its encore run on Netflix. Following are all the sci fi and fantasy entries on the streaming charts for the week (the number in parenthesis is the prior week rank):
Digital Ratings for the Week of Jun-21 to Jun-27
Streaming Originals
1 (1) Loki (Disney+) 713 Million
2 (2) Lucifer (Netflix) 603 Million
5 (3) Sweet Tooth (Netflix) 359 Million
7 (4) The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu) 266 Million
Acqiured Shows
1 (1) Manifest (Netflix) 2.1 Billion
8 (9) Supernatural (Netflix) 333 Million
10 (n/a) Black Lightning (Netflix) 278 Million
Source: Nielsen SVOD Content Ratings (Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix), Nielsen National TV Panel, U.S. Viewing Through Television
Ratings Results of Interest
Freeform’s Motherland Fort Salem slipped in the ratings for the week of July 12th, posting a 0.05 score with 153K total viewers. That show is at the point that it is barely registering in the linear ratings and I will be moving it to Bubble status (where it spent much of its first season). I’m still guessing that it could get a third season since Freeform typically lets its shows go at least that long, but my confidence is wavering on that. If it is making up enough slack in digital and delayed viewing it may be okay. Over on The CW, Dead Pixels had its second season premiere but only managed a 0.03 rating with 186K total viewers. That show is a British import, though, and it fate is more heavily determined by the viewership in its home country. Ratings Source: Spoiler TV.
Status Update
NBC cancelled its lost-airplane drama Manifest after three seasons and Netflix passed on picking it up, but both networks may be reconsidering its stance. The show has been topping viewership charts since the encore run of its first two seasons began on Netflix in June, twice surpassing two billion minutes of viewing for the week so far (see above). According to Deadline, both NBC and Netflix are in talks with Warner Bros. TV (the show’s studio) about the possibility of keeping it going. A deal has not been worked out just yet, but fans continue to campaign for the show and this one just might take flight again.
Sci Fi TV Development
Amazon has given a six-episode limited series order for a television adaptation of Niel Gaiman’s Anansi Boys. The streamer gives the following description of the project:
Anansi Boys follows Charlie Nancy, a young man who is used to being embarrassed by his estranged father. But when his father dies, Charlie discovers that his father was Anansi: trickster god of stories. And he learns that he has a brother. Now his brother, Spider, is entering Charlie’s life, determined to make it more interesting, but also making it a lot more dangerous.
This book has some of the same mythical characters that appeared in Gaiman’s American Gods, but it is not considered a sequel or spin-off. Orlando Jones played the role of Anansi/Mr. Nancy in the Starz television adaptation of American Gods, but he was released from that show and it is unlikely he would reprise the character in the Amazon series. It is expected to premiere at some point in 2022. The streamer has also given a second season order for Good Omens, based on the book by Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.
Sci Fi TV News of Note
Filming for Season 2 of Amazon’s The Wheel of Time series, based on the books by Robert Jordan, has already begun according to a Twitter post from the production. The show was renewed for a second season in advance with the first year set to debut later in 2021 . . . HBO has another animated Game of Thrones spin-off in the works that will take place in the land of the Golden Empire of Yi Ti, a setting inspired by Imperial China. And the Flea Bottom live-action spin-off appears not to be going forward at this time . . . The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which Netflix cancelled after four seasons/parts, will continue in comics with series creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa as writer. The upcoming ninth issue of the series (set for October release), will pick up on the “Witch War” storyline from the show. Be sure to follow r/SciFiTV for news, schedule updates, trailers, discussions, and more.
Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and keep up with what is airing/streaming each week with our Weekly Listings.
