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
Status Update
Manifest has now topped the streaming charts for seven weeks in a row for its encore run on Netflix (more on that below), and that streamer appears to be close to picking it up for additional seasons, something it should have done two months ago. According to Deadline, Netflix is back in negotiations with Warner Bros. TV and is close to a deal to bring the show back for a fourth season. The studio is currently talking with the cast about returning and prepping writers for an upcoming season. This turn of events has certainly been sparked by the fact that the first two seasons have performed so well in streaming, but efforts by fans should not be discounted either. They have been very active on the social networks and their campaign surely helped boost the show up in the charts. It is uncertain how many seasons Netflix is currently negotiating for, but expect an announcement on this one soon.
Digital Ratings
As mentioned above, Manifest made it seven straight weeks at Number 1 in the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 for acquired shows for the week of July 19th to 25th. It dropped below one billion minutes of viewing for the first time, but the fact that it was above that mark for six straight weeks (reaching as high as 2.5 billion), was quite impressive. In the Top 10 originals, Disney+’s Loki slipped to the Number 4 slot one week after its Season 1 finale pulling in 384 million total minutes. Lucifer improved to Number 6 with 277 million minutes as anticipation builds for the upcoming Season 6 premiere in September. Kevin Smith’s Masters of the Universe: Revelation premiered that week but did not make it into the rankings. In the Top 10 movies, the Netflix original horror film Blood Red Sky premiered at the Number 3 slot with 296 million total minutes of viewing. Amazon’s The Tomorrow War slipped to Number 8 while five of the Twilight movies dominated the rankings now that they are 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 Jul-19 to Jul-25
Streaming Originals
4 (2) Loki (Disney+) 386 Million
6 (8) Lucifer (Netflix) 277 Million
Acquired Shows
1 (1) Manifest (Netflix) 939 Million
8 (10) Supernatural (Netflix) 328 Million
Movies
2 (9) Twilight (Netlix) 342 Million
3 (n/a) Blook Red Sky (Netlix) 296 Million
5 (n/a) The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Netlix) 284 Million
6 (n/a) The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Netlix) 244 Million
7 (n/a) The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Pt 2 (Netlix) 198 Million
8 (4) The Tomorrow War (Amazon) 184 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
ShowBuzzDaily is back! That site which covers the ratings, the Box Office, and other aspects of the entertainment industry shut down in the midsts of severe technical issues in May, but has now resumed business as of last week. I was getting ratings numbers from Spoiler TV after ShowBuzzDaily went dark, but I will shift back to the latter for the most part because they have the numbers on a more timely basis. As I have said previously, the ratings results are becoming less and less of a factor these days, but they still heavily influence the fate of shows airing on the Big Four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC).
The curious onlooker effect kicked in to an extent for FOX’s Fantasy Island reboot this week as it slipped to a 0.27 rating based same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 1.8 million total viewers for its second episode. Those are still passable numbers for a Summer entry, but that one does not have much more leeway for slippage. The CW’s Stargirl posted a 0.13 rating in the demo for its debut last week and slipped just a bit on Tuesday to a 0.11 score. That show is currently neck-and-neck with Superman & Lois as the network’s highest-rated show and it has already been renewed for a third season. The numbers for Motherland Fort Salem continue to fluctuate as that one posted a 0.08 score last week but dropped to a 0.05 this past Tuesday. Fans should definitely make a Call to Action on the social networks to help get that show to a third season. Ratings Source: SpoilerTV and ShowBuzzDaily
Renewal Announcements
FX has given a second season renewal to its horror anthology American Horror Stories which is currently streaming exclusively on Hulu under the FX on Hulu banner. That spin-off from American Horror Story had its debut in July, and even though it has not cracked the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 yet, it has performed well so far according to the network as it is certainly drawing viewers from the AHS fanbase. In addition, What We Do in the Shadows has been renewed for a fourth season. That show is set to return for its third season on FX on September 2nd and the network has given it an early fourth season renewal. It has performed decently well in linear viewing across its first two seasons and it has also pulled in strong viewership on digital platforms.
Sci Fi TV News of Note
Joseph Mallozzi has indicated on his blog that he is prepping a six-episode mini-series for Dark Matter that will wrap up the cancelled show’s storylines. He will be pitching it to networks, with Netflix–where the show is in encore runs–likely one of his first stops . . . Peacock has ordered straight to series a show based on the 1989 film Field of Dreams which starred Kevin Costner. Michael Schur (The Good Place) will be adapting it for television. There are also currently plans in place for a television adaptation of another Kevin Kostner film Waterworld . . . Roddenberry Entertainment is currently working on a biopic of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. He would have been 100 years old on August 19th . . . The previously reported adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s sci fi-ish novel The Cat’s Cradle is not moving forward at FX. Noah Hawley was attached to that but made the comment that it is “tough in a post-Disney acquisition age to do what probably is an expensive period Kurt Vonnegut mini-series”. Be sure to follow r/SciFiTV for news, schedule updates, trailers, discussions, and more.
Sci Fi TV Schedule
The thirteenth season of Doctor Who will be premiering this Fall, but an exact date has not been given yet. Jodie Whittaker will be leaving the role in 2022 after three specials that will follow Season 13. The final premieres of Summer will come next week as FX’s American Horror Story has its Season 11 bow on Wednesday and Apple TV+’s See kicks off its second season on Friday. Also, The CW’s Supergirl will be returning from hiatus on Tuesday while Paramount+’s Evil will resume new episodes on the 29th of August. The Fall season will be kicking off shortly after that and you can get a look at that schedule at this link.
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.
