Freeform’s supernatural drama Motherland Fort Salem is currently airing its second season with no word yet on whether the show will continue into a third. That show first debuted in March 2020 and only pulled mediocre ratings in its first year, averaging a 0.10 score based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic. It still received a second season nod, but it returned this Summer with even lower ratings, so far averaging only a 0.06 score. The same-day numbers may not be as important for this show seeing as it skews to a younger audience and will likely make up slack in digital viewing on Hulu and the Freeform app where episodes stream the next day. However, the Nielsen numbers do act as a leading indicator and I have moved this show to Bubble status.
Freeform is a Disney-owned cable channel that has aired its share of sci fi/fantasy entries over the past five-plus years. Shows like Stitchers, Siren, and Shadowhunters have all found some success on the network and all were allowed to go for three seasons. Cloak & Dagger was cancelled after two seasons, but that had more to do with the Disney buyout of FOX Entertainment and the property moving up under the Mouse House. None of these four shows mentioned pulled spectacular ratings (though Shadowhunters performed quite well early on), but all demonstrated a “stickiness” on the social networks and likely did well in digital and delayed viewing. So even though the numbers are down for Motherland Fort Salem, past precedent suggests it still has a chance of sticking around for at least one more season (though all of the other three-season shows were subsequently cancelled at that point with only Shadowhunters getting a final movie after a raucous fan campaign).
According to comments made by showrunner Eliot Laurence as well as series star Taylor Hickson, there are certainly plans for a third season of the show and they are thinking ahead to the direction it will take. And it sounds like the second season could end on a cliffhanger based on Hickson’s comment that the final episode “sets it up for an infinite amount of possibilities for Season 3 on where they could take it”. So the story will not be wrapping up any time soon and fans certainly do not want to be left hanging.
And at this point, the fate of the show may very well be in the hands of those fans. Motherland Fort Salem has not delivered high Nielsen ratings, but that does not necessarily mean that it is on the cancellation block. If the fans start making some noise on the social networks, that could help nudge network execs towards greenlighting a third season. In addition, watching the show online at Hulu or on Freeform’s website or app will help as well. Watching the live broadcast does nothing unless you are a Nielsen family, but your views will be counted if you watch online. Staging viewing parties would certainly be a good idea as well.
For the basic cable channels (with the exception of Syfy), shows do not always live and die by the same-day Nielsen ratings. And since this production comes from Freeform Studios, Disney has an ownership stake and will make money from future syndication and streaming sales of the show. So they certainly have an interest in keeping it going and if fans bring some attention to it on the social networks while also boosting the digital viewing numbers they can certainly help get the show to a third season. Action from fans currently has Manifest on the verge of getting a fourth season and we have previously seen shows like Lucifer, The Expanse, and Timeless saved (even if only for a short while) when fans have taken up the Call to Action. For Motherland Fort Salem, the time is definitely now to show your support in the hopes of keeping it going to a third season.
Are you still watching Motherland Fort Salem? Will you support efforts to get the show renewed? Chime in below in the comments section.
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I’m going to be 69 yrs old in a couple of months & I am loving Motherland Fort Salem. I also watched Stitchers and other shows on Freeform. Also shows on SyFy and I’m disappointed they keep cancelling these good shows. While the world around us is falling apart over so many years, these are the type of shows that take us from reality even just for a short time. I also love Manifest. You will lose a lot of viewers for any new shows in the future because everything is going to streaming. I won’t pay more for that. Just my opinion.