Cancellation Watch: Ratings results and streaming viewership for the sci fi and fantasy shows on the broadcast networks, cable channels, and streaming services as well as status updates and breaking news on the currently airing, returning, and upcoming genre entries.
The Nielsen Streaming Rankings were running late last week due to the holiday, so those and the Netflix Top 10 and included in this week’s Cancellation Watch post. The only show that had linear ratings last week was His Dark Materials and that was out of the Cable Top 150 so there are no numbers to report at this time. I will catch up with those in next week’s Cancellation Watch post.
Status Updates:
Trending Toward Renewal:
The Peripheral (Prime Video, Renewal Possible): This show has only made a brief appearance in the Nielsen Streaming Rankings in its first season, but it did show up on the Parrot Analytics In Demand Chart. Amazon Studios’ Head of Television, Vernon Sanders has also indicated that a second season is in the works even though there has not been an official renewal yet. Seeing as this is the first show from Amazon’s development deal with Christopher Nolan and Lisa Joy, it makes sense that the streamer would be patient with the property. If this one had been on Netflix, it likely would have been cancelled already.
Trending Toward Cancellation:
Dragon Age Absolution (Netflix, On the Bubble): After the cancellation 1899 yesterday, I’m thinking it just makes sense to put all Netflix shows On the Bubble from this point forward. Dragon Age Absolution received almost no promotion–which has become standard for that streamer–and it did not make it into the Top 10 when it premiered. Sometimes animated shows are given some more leeway, but I see nothing to give fans hope for a second season at this point, so I am moving it to Bubble status.
Tales of the Walking Dead (AMC, On the Bubble): No entry from this franchise has been cancelled yet–though The Walking Dead: World Beyond was capped at two seasons–but there has been no word on this anthology series since it wrapped up its six-episode run in September. It seems like this one should get at least one more season because it can reboot itself each year with its anthology format. But AMC Networks is going through some behind-the-scenes shakeups, so don’t be surprised if they decide not to stick with this low-rated show.
You can see the status of all the currently airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows at our Cancellation Watch page.
Netflix Top 10:
Wednesday continued its run at Number 1 in the Netflix charts during the week of December 19th to 25th. It pulled in another 119 million hours of viewing and has now passed 1.3 billion total over five weeks. I would say that this one is a sure thing for renewal if it was on any other service than Netflix. The Witcher: Blood Origin mini-series debuted at Number 7 with sixteen million hours which is impressive considering that is only for one day since it premiered on a Sunday. 1899 dropped out of the charts after a five week run with good viewership, but it has been cancelled by the streamer. In the chart for Non-English Language shows, Part 2 of Alchemy of Souls improved to Number 5 with fifteen million hours watched. Following are all the sci fi and fantasy TV shows on the Netflix charts for the week (the number in parenthesis is the prior week rank):
Netflix Top 10 for the Week of Dec-19 to Dec-25
English Language Shows
1 (1) Wednesday 118.5 Million Hours
7 (n/a) The Witcher: Blood Origin: Limited Series 15.9 Million Hours
Non-English Language Shows
3 (3) Reborn Rich 17.0 Million Hours
5 (6) Alchemy of Souls: Part 2 15.1 Million Hours
8 (5) Alchemy of Souls: Part 1 11.8 Million Hours
Source: Netflix
Nielsen Streaming Top 10
Netflix’s Wednesday remained at the Number 1 slot in the Nielsen rankings for originals for the week of November 28th to December 4th. It had an estimated 5.3 billion minutes watched which would seem to justify a renewal, but you never know with that streamer. Manifest slipped to Number 6 with 680 million minutes viewed while 1899 slipped to Number 7 with 566 million minutes. The latter show was just cancelled by Netflix. Amazon’s The Peripheral finally made it into the charts for the week of its Season 1 finale at the Number 8 slot with 394 million minutes viewed. Disney+’s Andor dropped out the week after its season finale and will be back next year with its second and final season. Willow had its premiere that week on Disney+ but did not make it into the Top 10. Following are all the sci fi and fantasy TV shows on the streaming charts for the week (the number in parenthesis is the prior week rank):
Nielsen Streaming Rankings for the Week of Nov-28 to Dec-4
Streaming Originals
1 (1) Wednesday (Netflix) 5.3 Billion Minutes
6 (5) Manifest (Netflix) 680 Million Minutes
7 (3) 1899 (Netflix) 566 Million Minutes
8 (n/a) The Peripheral (Amazon) 394 Million Minutes
Acquired Shows
No Genre Entries
Source: Nielsen SVOD Content Ratings (Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, and Apple TV+), Nielsen National TV Panel, U.S. Viewing Through Television
ALSO READ:
All of the Cancelled and Ending Sci Fi TV Shows from the 2022-23 Season (So Far)
CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates of all the currently airing sci fi and fantasy shows with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates.
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.
