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:
Both The Walking Dead and American Horror Story slipped to series-low ratings levels with their latest episodes. On Sunday, TWD posted a 0.52 rating based on same-day viewing for the 18-48 demographic with just under two million total viewers while the latter slipped to a 0.26 rating with 697K total viewers. TWD is currently in its final season (though several spin-offs are in the works) while AHS is airing its tenth season and has been renewed through its thirteenth. Over on FOX on Tuesday, Fantasy Island slipped to a 0.26 rating with 1.6 million total viewers which has it near Bubble territory.
The CW cancelled The Republic of Sarah this week, and while that does not really count as a sci fi/fantasy entry, its premise of a town breaking away to form its own nation might interest genre fans. While The CW tends to renew most of its shows, it usually has one late-season entry that gets sacrificed to the ratings gods, and this show drew that straw for the 2020-21 season. Last year it was Katy Keene that got cast off after a late-season run. The upcoming Tom Swift (see below) could find itself in that situation this year. Ratings Source: SpoilerTV and ShowBuzzDaily
Digital Ratings
Manifest continues to slip down in the Nielsen Streaming Rankings for acquired shows, but still remains in the Top 10 after nine weeks. It slipped to the Number 8 slot with an estimated 501 million minutes of viewing for the week of August 2nd to August 8th. Supernatural made a return to that list at the Number 10 slot after dropping out last week. In the Top 10 for originals, Lucifer was the only genre entry, slipping to the Number 9 slot with 223 minutes of viewing. Loki dropped out of the Top 10 after an eight week run. In the Top 10 for movies, Jungle Cruise was the only genre entry which is available for streaming on Disney+ at an extra cost. 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 Aug-2 to Aug-8
Streaming Originals
9 (7) Lucifer (Netflix) 223 Million
Acquired Shows
2 (7) The Walking Dead (Netflix) 720 Million
8 (4) Manifest (Netflix) 501 Million
9 (7) The Flash (Netflix) 472 Million
10 (n/a) Supernatural (Netflix) 368 Million
Movies
2 (3) Jungle Cruise (Disney+) 407 Million
Source: Nielsen SVOD Content Ratings (Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix), Nielsen National TV Panel, U.S. Viewing Through Television
Renewal Announcement
After Manifest spent eight straight weeks in the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 for acquired shows–seven at the Number 1 slot–Netflix finally stepped up and did what it should have earlier this Summer and picked up the show which had been cancelled by NBC. The announcement came on Saturday 8/28 at 8:28 AM (the flight number of the plane that disappeared is 828). As of now, the show has been renewed for a twenty-episode fourth and final season. That will almost certainly be broken into two parts, and I consider it a possibility that it could get an extended fifth season if the viewership remains strong, similar to what happened with Lucifer after it was picked up by Netflix. You can read more about the renewal at this link.
Sci Fi TV Development
The CW has given a straight-to-series order for Tom Swift based on the character from the classic YA sci fi books. This is a spin-off of sorts from Nancy Drew as the updated take on the character first made his appearance on that show this past season. Hollywood Reporter gives the following description of the project:
Tom Swift will follow the title character (Tian Richards, Burden) who’s thrust into a world of sci-fi conspiracy and unexplained phenomena after the shocking disappearance of his father. Tom takes to the road on a quest to unravel the truth, leaving behind the comforts of his usual moneyed lifestyle while fighting to stay one step ahead of an Illuminati-scale group hell-bent on stopping him.
The series is set to premiere later in the 2021-22 season which is not necessarily a good thing. While The CW tends to renew the majoritiy of its shows, late season entries often have a lower survival rate (see my comments in the Ratings Results section above). Expect the series to debut in Spring or Summer.
Sci Fi TV News of Note
Production has begun on the Netflix horror anthology Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, and the streamer has announced the writers, directors, and cast. Along with del Toro, others writing for the show include Mika Watkins (Origin), Lee Patterson (Curve), and David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight). The directors will include Keith Thomas (Firestarter), Vincenzo Natali (Hannibal), and Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight). Among the actors appearing the show are Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead), Crispin Glover (American Gods), Peter Weller (Odyssey 5), and David Hewlett (Stargate: Atlantis). You can see the full rundown of the episodes at this link . . . The upcoming Addams Family reboot Wednesday has added more members to the cast. Thora Birch (The Walking Dead), Riki Lindhome (Knives Out), and Jamie McShane (Mank) are among those who will join Jenna Ortega who plays the title role. The series is set at Netflix and will likely debut at some point in 2022. Be sure to follow r/SciFiTV for news, schedule updates, trailers, discussions, and more.
Sci Fi TV Schedule
The third season of Shudder’s horror anthology Creepshow has received a premiere date of September 23rd. That series typically releases one episode per week. Next week brings the premiere of Lucifer‘s sixth season on Netflix which will be its last. All episodes will be available for streaming that day. Also next week, The CW’s Legends of Tomorrow will have its sixth season finale. But that one will be making a quick turnaround with its seventh season premiering in October. 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.
