Sci Fi TV Update: La Brea Improves for Its Season Finale, Locke & Key Slips, and More

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:

On Tuesday, NBC’s La Brea had its Season 1 finale and its numbers improved from the prior week to a 0.51 rating based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 4.9 million total viewers. That one appears to be in good shape for its second season run as long as NBC keeps it in a good timeslot. Chucky slipped a bit for its season finale to a 0.24 rating in the demo with 609K total viewers (including its simulcast on USA), but that one has already been renewed for a second season. The full numbers for this week will be included in the Tuesday Sci Fi TV Update post.

Below are the full ratings results from last week which were delayed due to the Thanksgiving holiday. A couple of thoughts on those: On Thursday, Ghosts aired a repeat but produced the highest rating it has seen so far this season. Of course the CBS comedy lineup that night (all repeats) was boosted by a strong lead-in from NFL football. On Friday, Nancy Drew was preempted by the Christmas special Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer and it nearly doubled the average rating for that timeslot this season. I still consider Nancy Drew to be on target for renewal, though, because it does better in digital viewing and it is in the syndication stretch. Ratings Source: ShowBuzzDaily

Ratings Results for the Week of 11/22/21

Digital Ratings:

Netflix’s Locke & Key dropped one slot in the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 for original series for the week of November 1st to 7th. It slipped to Number 3 and pulled in an estimated 635 million minutes of viewing and it has already been renewed for a third season. Arcane had its premiere on Netflix that week but did not make it to the Top 10 yet. But that one bowed at the end of the week with only its first three episodes, so watch for it to hit the charts next week. The Apple TV+ original movie Finch (which stars Tom Hanks) made it into the Top 10 for movies that week at Number 9 with 132 million minutes of viewing. I had either not snapped to the fact that Nielsen was now including Apple TV+ or had forgotten. But that means that neither Foundation nor Invasion made it into the Top 10 for original series because Nielsen was tracking the streamer when they premiered. 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 Nov-1 to Nov-7

Streaming Originals
3 (2) Locke & Key (Netlfix) 635 Million

Acquired Shows
No Genre Entries

Movies
2 (4) Army of Thieves (Netflix) 456 Million
5 (n/a) Replicas (Netflix) 173 Million
6 (7) Black Widow (Disney+) 169 Million
9 (n/a) Finch (Apple TV+) 132 Million
10 (2) King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (Netflix) 130 Million

Source: Nielsen SVOD Content Ratings (Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, and Apple TV+), Nielsen National TV Panel, U.S. Viewing Through Television

Sci Fi TV Development:

AMC has given the greenlight to Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches which is based on the Lives of the Mayfair Witches trilogy. Deadline gives the following description for the project:

Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches focuses on an intuitive young neurosurgeon who discovers that she is the unlikely heir to a family of witches. As she grapples with her newfound powers, she must contend with a sinister presence that has haunted her family for generations.

It has received a straight-to-series order with eight episodes for the first season. It will be joining the upcoming Interview with the Vampire series on the AMC schedule and the network is currently exploring other works by the author as well.

Sci Fi TV News of Note:

Steve Conrad (Ultra City Smiths) has been attached as writer for the upcoming Game of Thrones  prequel Dunk & Egg which is currently in the works. That is one of several GoT spin-offs that HBO currently has in the fire with House of the Dragon set as the first to arrive in 2022 . . . Cobie Smulders will reprise her role as SHIELD agent Maria Hill in the upcoming Secret Invasion TV series that is heading to Disney+.  That series will also see Samuel L. Jackson return as Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn back as the Skrull Talos.  It is tentatively set for a 2022 premiere . . . Rupert Grint (Harry Potter) has been cast in the upcoming Netflix horror anthology series Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities. Other actors currently lined up fo the show include Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead), Essie Davis (Game of Thrones), David Hewlett (Stargate: Atlantis), and Crispin Glover (American Gods). Be sure to follow r/SciFiTV for news, schedule updates, trailers, discussions, and more.

Sci Fi TV Schedule:

Next week sees only one genre entry joining the schedule, but it is a highly anticipated one as Amazon’s The Expanse returns for its sixth and final season. That will consist of six episodes and will release one ep per week. There are a few more shows arriving in December, and you can see the current schedule at this link. Mid-Season is just around the corner (starting in January) and you can get a preliminary look at that schedule 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.