Cancellation Watch: Ratings results and status updates for the sci fi and fantasy shows on the broadcast networks, cable channels, and streaming services as well as breaking news on the currently airing, returning, and upcoming genre entries. For the streaming ratings, see our weekly Digital Ratings posts.
Linear Ratings Results of Interest:
On Sunday, HBO’s The Last of Us had its season finale and posted a 0.33 rating based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with one million total viewers. That was lower than its season-high rating of 0.37 a few weeks ago, but still very good for linear viewing these days. And according to HBO, the finale pulled a high mark of 8.2 million viewers across all platforms and including encore viewing for the night. Not surprisingly, the show has been renewed for a second season.
On Wednesday, Syfy’s The Ark ticked up to a 0.07 rating with 361K total viewers. Those numbers are not great but may be just enough to get it to a second season. Over on The CW, Kung Fu held at a 0.06 rating with 397K total viewers for its season finale, and I don’t believe that one has done enough to convince the new owners of that network that it should come back for a fourth season. Over on ABC, Not Dead Yet slipped yet again, this time to a 0.25 rating with 2.1 million total viewers. That show has been trending down of late which is not a good thing.
On Tuesday on The CW, The Winchesters held low at a 0.05 rating with 439K total viewers for its season finale. The dropoff in that show’s numbers since returning from hiatus (in part due to scheduling hi-jinks) may give the network execs enough justification to not bring it back for a second season. Over on FOX on Monday, Fantasy Island pulled a 0.23 rating with two million total viewers which may not be enough to justify a third season for that show.
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 3/6/23
| Series | Rating / Tot Viewers |
| Fantasy Island (FOX) Mon 8 PM | Rtg: 0.23 / Tot Vwrs: 2.0M, Status: On the Bubble |
| Quantum Leap (NBC) Mon 10 PM | Rtg: 0.27 ↓ / Tot Vwrs: 2.2M, Status: Renewed |
| The Winchesters (CW) Tue 8 PM | Rtg: 0.05 / Tot Vwrs: 439K, Status: On the Bubble |
| La Brea (NBC) Tue 9 PM | Season Ended, Status: Renewed |
| The Flash (CW) Wed 8 PM | Rtg: 0.10 / Tot Vwrs: 555K, Status: Final Season |
| Kung Fu (CW) Wed 9 PM | Rtg: 0.06 / Tot Vwrs: 397K, Status: On the Bubble |
| Not Dead Yet (ABC) Wed 9:30 PM | Rtg: 0.25 ↓ / Tot Vwrs: 2.1M, Status: Renewal Possible |
| The Ark (Syfy) Wed 9 PM | Rtg: 0.07 ↑ / Tot Vwrs: 361K, Status: On the Bubble |
| Ghosts (CBS) Thu 8:30 PM | Rtg: 0.61 ↑ / Tot Vwrs: 6.6M, Status: Renewed |
| The Last of Us (HBO) Sun 9 PM | Rtg: 0.33 ↑ / Tot Vwrs: 1.0M, Status: Renewed |
Nielsen Streaming Top 10
Neflix’s supernatural drama Lockwood & Co. held in the Nielsen Top 10 for originals for the week of February 6th to 12th. That was its third week in the charts, but it dropped to Number 7 with an estimated 273 million minutes viewed. That show already dropped out of the Netflix Top 10 after three weeks which is not a good sign because we have seen shows like The Midnight Club, The Imperfects, and Warrior Nun cancelled after a similar run. Wednesday slipped to Number 5 with 357 million minutes of viewing and The Last of Us held at Number 2 in the chart for acquired shows with 1.1 billion minutes of viewing. 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 Feb-6 to Feb-12
Streaming Originals
5 (4) Wednesday (Netflix) 357 Million Minutes, Weeks in the Chart: 12
7 (3) Lockwood & Co. (Netflix) 273 Million Minutes, Weeks in the Chart: 3
Acquired Shows
2 (2) The Last of Us (Netflix) 1.1 Billion Minutes, Weeks in the Chart: 4
6 (3) The Walking Dead (HBO Max) 708 Million Minutes, Weeks in the Chart: 6
Source: Nielsen SVOD Content Ratings (Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, and Apple TV+), Nielsen National TV Panel, U.S. Viewing Through Television
Netflix Top 10:
It was another slow week in the Netflix charts for genre entries with only one show making it into the rankings from February 27th to March 5th. Wednesday held on for another week at the Number 9 slot with 16.4 million hours of viewing. That show has now been in the Netflix Top 10 for fifteen straight weeks. 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 Feb-27 to Mar-5
English Language Shows
9 (9) Wednesday 16.4 Million Hours, Weeks in the Chart: 15
Non-English Language Shows
No Genre Entries
Source: Netflix
Cancellation/Renewal Score:
There were no cancellation or renewal announcements last week, so the score has remained the same. It currently stands at 24 renewed (35% of shows tracked) vs. 26 cancelled and ending (38%). Below are this season’s numbers, and you can see the list of shows and keep up with the score throughout the week at our Cancellation Watch Page.
| Show Count | 69 | ||
| Cancelled | 14 | 20.3% | |
| Ending | 12 | 17.4% | 37.7% |
| Renewed | 24 | 34.8% | |
| On the Bubble | 8 | 11.6% | |
| Renewal Possible | 11 | 15.9% |
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CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates of all the airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows for the current season 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.
