Cancellation Watch: Ratings results for the sci fi and fantasy shows on the broadcast networks and cable channels as well as status updates and breaking news on the currently airing, returning, and upcoming genre entries. See our Digital Ratings posts for the viewership of the streaming shows.
Linear Ratings Results of Interest:
This past week brought several premieres for sci fi and fantasy shows on the broadcast networks and cable channels, but only one of those (Ghosts on CBS) had anything close to strong ratings results for its debut.
On Sunday, AMC’s heavily promoted Interview With The Vampire–based on the Anne Rice novels–had its premiere but only managed a 0.15 rating based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 622K total viewers. Those are not terrible numbers, but that is also not a great start for a shiny new franchise that received a notable marketing push prior to its debut. It was also available on AMC+ the same day (along with the second episode), though, so the digital viewing should give it an additional push. I will keep an eye out to see if AMC releases those numbers. On the positive side, the show is not in danger of cancellation as it has already been renewed for a second season.
The Walking Dead returned that night as well with the first of its last eight episodes, and it slipped to yet another series low in viewership. It posted only a 0.27 rating with 1.2 million total viewers, down 25% from the last episode it aired in Spring 2022. That show is coming to an end this Fall, but the Walking Dexit will continue to impact the many spin-offs in the works. Tales of the Walking Dead posted all-time lows for a show in the franchise this past Summer, and three more TWD shows are currently in the works despite waning interest.
On Thursday, Ghosts returned for its second season on CBS and posted a 0.55 rating in the demo with 6.5 million total viewers. That was down by 21% from last year’s series premiere but only down 4% from its prior season average. It also improved on the numbers from its Young Sheldon lead-in and topped the night among scripted shows on the broadcast networks. Despite the year-over-year drop in numbers, this supernatural comedy is off to a good start this season.
On Wednesday, The CW’s Stargirl slipped to a series low 0.04 rating with 255K total users which has me leaning towards moving that one to Bubble status. Over on Syfy, Resident Alien improved to a 0.07 rating with 550K total viewers for its Season 2 finale. That one has been renewed for a third season.
On Tuesday of last week, NBC’s La Brea returned for its second season and posted a 0.49 rating with four million total viewers. That is down by 36% from its series premiere last year and by 16% from its prior season average. That will also likely place it outside of the Top 30 broadcast network shows for the 2022-23 season so far (watch for those numbers next week). But that does not put the show in jeopardy just yet. We will have to see how this one tracks in the coming weeks to get a better idea of where it stands this year.
On Monday on NBC, the curious onlooker effect took its toll on Quantum Leap as it dropped to a 0.34 rating with 2.8 million total viewers, losing 28% in the demo from its premiere week. Apparently the name recognition for the franchise brought in viewers for the first episode, but a notable percentage of those did not stick around for the second. The show is not in danger just yet, but if NBC does decide to nix programming in the 10 PM EST hour, Quantum Leap could be one of the casualties.
You can see the full, season-to-date ratings for the sci fi and fantasy shows at this link, and below are the ratings for the genre shows from the past week. Ratings Source: ShowBuzzDaily
Ratings Results for the Week of 9/26/22
| Series | Rating / Tot Viewers |
| Quantum Leap (NBC) Mon 10 PM | Rtg: 0.34 ↓ / Tot Vwrs: 2.8M, Status: Renewal Possible |
| La Brea (CW) Tue 9 PM | Rtg: 0.49 / Tot Vwrs: 4.0M, Status: Renewal Possible |
| Stargirl (CW) Wed 8 PM | Rtg: 0.04 ↓ / Tot Vwrs: 255K, Status: Renewal Possible |
| Resident Alien (Syfy) Wed 10 PM | Rtg: 0.07 ↑ / Tot Vwrs: 550K, Status: Renewed |
| Ghosts (CBS) Thu 8:30 PM | Rtg: 0.55 / Tot Vwrs: 6.5M, Status: Renewal Possible |
| Little Demon (FXX) Thu 10 PM | Rtg: 0.11 ↑ / Tot Vwrs: 263K, Status: Renewal Possible |
| The Walking Dead (AMC) Sun 9 PM | Rtg: 0.27 / Tot Vwrs: 1.2M, Status: Final Season |
| House of the Dragon (HBO) Sun 9 PM | Rtg: 0.43 ↓ / Tot Vwrs: 1.9M, Status: Renewed |
| Interview With The Vampire (AMC) Sun 10 PM | Rtg: 0.15 / Tot Vwrs: 622K, Status: Renewed |
| Rick and Morty (ADSW) Sun 11 PM | Rtg: 0.32 ↑ / Tot Vwrs: 578K, Status: Renewal Possible |
Status Updates:
The Sandman (Netflix, Renewal Possible): This series has spent multiple weeks in the Netflix and Nielsen Top 10s, and yet there is still no renewal announcement two months after it premiered. Series creator Neil Gaiman has indicated that part of the reason for the delay is that the show was very expensive to produce and that Netflix execs want to do a deep dive into the numbers to see if they can justify the cost of a second season, looking at things like binge-viewing and the completion rate. Fans have already started to get #RenewTheSandman trending on social media, and if the streamer does turn this into yet another of its high-profile cancellations, the negative publicity could take its toll.
Tales of the Walking Dead (AMC, On the Bubble): This show posted a franchise-low average of a 0.09 rating based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic for its six-episode first season. It likely improved on that with digital viewing on AMC+, but the low linear ratings give a clear sign that viewer interest in this franchise has dropped off notably and will probably carry into the other spin-offs in the works. I am going to move Tales to Bubble status, but I still consider it possible that AMC could give this one a second season to try and revive interest. (Better writing for the show would certainly help.)
Farzar (Netflix, On the Bubble): This animated sci fi comedy arrived on Netflix amidst several other high-profile premieres and has not received much attention so far. It only has a 52% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes and not enough critics have paid attention to it to get it an average Tomatometer score. Unless a Season 2 deal was worked out in advance for this one, I would say that its chances of sticking around are a toss-up at best at this point.
Salvage Marines (Popcorn Flix/Crackle, Renewal): It is unclear if this show was intended to continue for more than one season because it did wrap up its major storylines, but it does have plenty of potential to explore the universe it created. It has not stirred up much buzz that I can see so far, but it also did not get much in the way of promotion. If it did develop a fanbase, they should start stumping for the show on the social networks to bring it more attention. Salvage Marines certainly does not have the budget demands of many of the major streaming productions, so bringing it back for a second year should be feasible if there is enough interest.
Digital Ratings: LOTR The Rings of Power vs. House of the Dragon, Which Has the Highest Viewership?Read
You can see the status of all the currently airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows at our Cancellation Watch page.
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SciFiTVSite.com: Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and you can see the premieres for all the upcoming genre entries at this link.
