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
Ratings Results of Interest:
FX’s American Horror Story had its two-episode Season 10 premiere on Wednesday and averaged a 0.30 rating across the two hours based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 753K total viewers. That was down notably from the 1.0 rating it had for its Season 9 premiere, but that was a whole other era in the pre-COVID days of 2019. The Wednesday numbers are decent for a cable show these days, and AHS has already been renewed through its 13th season. On Sunday on AMC, The Season 11 premiere for The Walking Dead improved slightly from where it was as its tenth season wrapped up in Spring, pulling a 0.60 rating in the demo with 2.2 million total viewers. That show is in its final season. Over on The CW on Tuesday, Stargirl improved from its Season 2 premiere last week and posted a 0.14 rating in the demo with 602K total viewers. That show has already been renewed for a third season. On FOX, Fantasy Island improved a bit to a 0.33 rating with 1.6 million total viewers. It is too early to expect a renewal anouncement for that one, but it is doing okay for a Summer entry so far. Ratings Source: SpoilerTV and ShowBuzzDaily
Digital Ratings
For the first time in eight weeks, Manifest was not at the top of the Nielsen Streaming Rankings for acquired shows. That one slipped to Number 4 for the week of July 26th to August 1st with an estimated 640 million minutes of viewing. But it has had a very impressive run, and its performance since its first two seasons became available on Netflix looks very likely to get it saved from cancellation. The Walking Dead entered the Top 10 for acquired shows at the Number 6 slot as its tenth season became available on Netflix that week. And The Flash was just behind that at Number 7 after its seventh season bowed on Netflix. And for the first time in several months, Supernatural dropped out of the Top 10 for acquired shows.
In the Top 10 for originals shows, Disney+’s Loki slipped to Number 9 with 180 million minutes of viewing two weeks after its season finale. And Netflix’s Lucifer slipped to Number 7 with 202 million minutes of viewing. In the Top 10 for movies, Netflix’s horror film Blood Red Sky improved to the Number 1 slot for its second week of release with 387 million minutes of viewing. And Jungle Cruise bowed at Number 3 on Disney+ as that theatrical release was available at an extra charge on the streaming service. 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-26 to Aug-1
Streaming Originals
7 (6) Lucifer (Netflix) 202 Million
9 (4) Loki (Disney+) 180 Million
Acquired Shows
4 (1) Manifest (Netflix) 640 Million
6 (n/a) The Walking Dead (Netflix) 554 Million
7 (n/a) The Flash (Netflix) 519 Million
Movies
1 (3) Blood Red Sky (Netlix) 387 Million
3 (n/a) Jungle Cruise (Disney+) 343 Million
7 (2) Twilight (Netlix) 155 Million
9 (6) The Tomorrow War (Amazon) 152 Million
10 (n/a) Black Widow (Disney+) 151 Million
Source: Nielsen SVOD Content Ratings (Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix), Nielsen National TV Panel, U.S. Viewing Through Television
Renewal and Cancellation Announcements
Freeform announced this week that its supernatural drama Motherland Fort Salem will be returning for a third season and that will be its last. That show’s numbers have been down in its second year, but the network typically allows its originals to go for at least three seasons. The show has developed somewhat of a following and it will be given the chance to wrap up its storylines. Across the Atlantic, Sky has announced that its space opera series Intergalactic will not return for a second season. Network exec Gabriel Silvers said that they had been “disappointed with audience figures” during its first season and also made the claim that it is hard to attract audiences to “English-accented sci-fis” (despite the fact the shows like Doctor Who, Black Mirror, Orphan Black, and more have performed well in the U.S.). The show was not well-received by critics or viewers, so it seems unlikely that much of an effort to save it will follow. It is currently streaming in the U.S. on Peacock.
Sci Fi TV Development
Disney+ is venturing beyond the MCU and Star Wars franchises that it owns and is developing a TV series based on the Jules Verne classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea which will be titled Nautilus. Hollywood Reporter gives the following description of the series:
Nautilus is set to give the famed 19th century novel a new spin, telling the origin story of Captain Nemo and his legendary submarine, the Nautilus. An Indian prince robbed of his birthright and family, a prisoner of the East India Company and a man bent on revenge against the forces that have taken everything from him, Nemo set sail with his ragtag crew on board the awe-inspiring vessel, battling foes and discovering magical underwater worlds.
Ten episodes have been ordered and it could continue beyond that if it proves popular enough. Disney previously adapted the Verne tale in the 1954 classic film which starred Kirk Douglas, James Mason, and Peter Lorre, though that took many liberties with the source material.
Sci Fi TV News of Note
The CW’s The Flash will kick off its eighth season with a five-episode crossover event titled “Armageddon”. Among the heroes that will appear across the five episodes are Batwoman, The Atom, Black Lightning, Sentinel, Mia Queen, and Ryan Choi. Tom Cavanagh and Neal McDonough will be returning as the villains Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash and Damien Darhk respectively . . . BBC’s head of drama Piers Wenger has indicated that they will be looking to make a “radical” change to Doctor Who after Jodie Whittaker exits from the lead role in 2022. There were no specifics on what exactly that meant, but a new showrunner will also be coming onboard at that time. Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski has expressed an interest in working on the show and has been in touch with the BBC . . . Paramount has set September 8th as “Star Trek Day”, celebrating the 55th anniversary of the show. A trailer has been released teasing the event . . . Brandon Routh has been cast in the lead role of Gideon Jura in the upcoming Netflix Magic: The Gathering TV series. Be sure to follow r/SciFiTV for news, schedule updates, trailers, discussions, and more.
Sci Fi TV Schedule
Netflix’s live-action reboot of the Anime Cowboy Bebop which will star John Cho has received a premiere date of November 19th. And the long-delayed second season of Netflix’s animated Ultraman will premiere in Spring 2022. Next week is the transition to the Fall season and will bring one new premiere. On Thursday, FX’s What We Do in the Shadows will have its Season 3 bow at 10 PM EST. There are more sci fi and fantasy shows on the way in the coming weeks, and you can see the Fall 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.
