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
Renewal Announcement:
The fantasy will continue on FOX as the network has given a second season renewal to its female-centric reboot of Fantasy Island. That series debuted in August, and although its same-day viewing was not great, it did well enough for a Summer entry. According to Deadline, it was the Number 1 new scripted drama in the 18-49 demographic for Summer, and it was also one of FOX’s most-streamed dramas. The series stars Roselyn Sanchez as Ms. Roarke and Kiara Barnes as her assistant and acts as a sequel series of sorts to the original 1977 show that had Ricardo Montalban and Herve Villechaize in the lead roles. A Christmas special episode of the new series will air December 21st, and then the second season will premiere in Summer 2022. A prior attempt to revive the franchise aired on ABC in 1998 starring Malcom McDowell as Mr. Roarke. That was a completed reboot and lasted for less than a season. You can read more about the original series at this link.
Ratings Results of Interest:
On Tuesday, NBC’s La Brea took a hit to its ratings as it slipped to a 0.43 score based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 4 million total viewers. The drop should not be a concern, though, because its lead-in was a repeat of The Voice instead of a new episode and it was going up against the World Series. I would expect it to rebound next week. Over on Syfy, Chucky slipped to a 0.11 rating in the demo with 282K total viewers while pulling a 0.12 rating and 302K total viewers for its simulcast on USA. That show still appears to be on track for a second season renewal. On Monday on The CW, 4400 slipped to a 0.08 rating with 358K total viewers for its second episode. Those are still decent numbers for that network and the show appears to be doing okay for now. The full ratings for the week will be available in the Tuesday Sci Fi TV Update post.
Digital Ratings:
After eighteen straight weeks in the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 for acquired shows, Manifest has dropped out. The lost plane drama did not place for the week of October 4th thru 10th, which is the first time since it began its encore run on Netflix in June. But its performance in the streaming rankings still made enough of a statement to convince Netflix to greenlight a fourth season after NBC cancelled the show. In the Top 10 originals, only one genre show placed that week as Lucifer slipped to the Number 9 slot with 283 million minutes of viewing. Black Widow became available on Disney+ that week without requiring an additional charge and jumped to the Number 1 slot in the Top 10 for movies. 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 Oct-4 to Oct-10
Streaming Originals
9 (3) Lucifer (Netlfix) 283 Million
Acquired Shows
10 (7) Supernatural (Netflix) 282 Million
Movies
1 (n/a) Black Widow (Disney+) 676 Million
10 (n/a) Premonition (Netflix) 152 Million
Source: Nielsen SVOD Content Ratings (Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix), Nielsen National TV Panel, U.S. Viewing Through Television
Sci Fi TV Schedule:
Netflix’s Lost in Space reboot finally has a premiere date for its final season. That show will be returning on December 1st to wrap up its three-year run. And TNT has announced the premiere date for the third season of its dystopian series Snowpiercer, setting it on track for a January 24th arrival. Next week brings only one sci fi TV premiere as the Anime Blade Runner: Black Lotus has its bow on Adult Swim on Saturday November 13th at 12 AM. And on Tuesday, Supergirl will have its two-hour series finale on The CW. You can keep up with the Weekly Listings at this link and you can see the full Fall schedule of sci fi and fantasy shows at this link.
Follow our Sci Fi TV Update posts each week for the status of the current sci fi and fantasy shows, the latest news, schedule info, 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.
