Peak TV Crunch: With the Bubble About to Burst, Are the Big Four Broadcast Networks a Good Place for Sci Fi TV?

As I discussed in a previous post, we are on the verge of seeing the bubble burst on Peak TV, or at least a major market correction. We are headed into the strike-impacted Fall 2023 season which will have a dearth of scripted programming, especially on the Big Four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC). Now is a good time to look at how sci fi TV has fared on those venues in recent years and whether it has much of a future there going forward (I will cover The CW in a separate post).

The fact is that the audience for broadcast television has been dwindling, and linear viewing in general has fallen below 50% for the first time this year. The broadcast networks have been struggling to adapt to the changing television landscape, and they are also having a hard time trying to compete with the streaming services. More and more non-scripted programming has been filling up their schedules and that will only increase due to the strikes. But even once those labor movements are resolved, the networks may continue to shy away from scripted shows beyond those that follow the standard Prime Time-friendly formula like procedurals and sitcoms. And that will almost certainly leave little in the way of opportunity for sci fi TV shows.

ABC

The alphabet network once had beloved shows like Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter on the schedule and back in the 00s ABC helped revive interest in sci fi across the broadcasters with the success of Lost. But over the past five seasons, this net has had only two genre entries on its schedule. Emergence was a Lost-like show that premiered in the 2019-20 season but was cancelled after one year after pulling only mediocre ratings. This past year, ABC added the supernatural sitcom Not Dead Yet at mid-season and that did well enough to get a second-season nod. But that is all the network has in the way of genre programming going into the coming year. With the strike, it is unlikely anything else will show up in the near future, and my guess is the network will start doing more encore runs of Disney+ originals like it did with Ms. Marvel. Beyond that, I don’t see much hope for sci fi TV on ABC in the coming years.

Sci Fi/Fantasy Shows Since the 2018-19 Season:

CBS

The eye network has long had an aversion to genre shows, and like ABC has had very little to offer over the past five seasons. It did give the greenlight to the promising supernatural drama Evil in the 2019-20 season, but then it shuffled that one off to its Paramount+ streaming service. That worked out best for the show, though, because it is now heading into its fourth season, something it may have never achieved if it remained on the broadcast network. CBS also had the Summer entry Blood & Treasure, but that one also got sent to Paramount+ (following a long hiatus between seasons due to COVID-related production delays) before getting cancelled. It has had success with the supernatural comedy Ghosts, but then that one fits nicely within the Prime Time-friendly sitcom formula the network prefers. That show is returning for a third season and will likely continue to at least a fourth year, but that is all the genre programming the network currently has on its slate. I am expecting some of the Star Trek shows and possibly Evil to jump over to the CBS schedule for encore runs, but beyond that, I don’t see much in the way of sci fi TV in the network’s near future.

Sci Fi/Fantasy Shows Since the 2018-19 Season:

FOX

This network has still never escaped the stigma of cancelling Firefly and it has made that worse by axing other fan-favorite genre entries over the years like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Lucifer. Over the past five years, FOX has given the greenlight to some promising genre entries, but sadly it has cut each of those short. The apocalyptic vampire series The Passage arrived on the 2018-19 schedule after years in development Hell but did not receive much support and was cancelled after one season. The AI drama NeXt premiered in the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season and should have received a lot of promotion seeing as it was one of the only scripted shows on the schedule that Fall.  But apparently network execs had soured on that one before it debuted and it disappeared after one season. The Fantasy Island revival showed promise and was built on a low-cost model, but the network shuffled it all over the schedule and then cancelled it after two seasons. The only thing FOX has to offer genre fans in the 2023-24 season is the animated fantasy comedy Krapopolis which comes from Rick & Morty co-creator Dan Harmon. I don’t see much else heading to the network in coming years, and based on prior treatment of sci fi shows, that may be best.

Sci Fi/Fantasy Shows Since the 2018-19 Season:

NBC

Of the Big Four broadcast networks, NBC has had the most to offer in the way of sci fi/fantasy programming over the past five years, but none of those shows have lasted long. The lost-plane drama Manifest was their biggest hit, but the network lost faith in that one when the overnight numbers slipped and they cancelled it after three seasons. (It would go on to be a huge hit for Netflix once that streamer picked up the show for a final season.) One-season shows like The InBetween and Debris had some potential but were watered-down for Prime Time and never developed much of an audience. The prehistoric drama La Brea has been somewhat of a mess story-wise, but it has been renewed through a third season (though that will likely be its last). The Quantum Leap revival has actually been quite good and respectful of the original series and it received a second-season renewal despite mediocre ratings. That one is not getting a good timeslot for its second year, which is concerning, but it allegedly performs well in encore runs on Peacock so that may keep it alive. At this point, it appears that NBC is the most likely among the Big Four to take a chance on sci fi TV going forward, but don’t count on anything lasting long there. And as the Peak TV crunch continues to take its toll, I expect less and less in the way of scripted programming in general on this and the other linear channels.

Sci Fi/Fantasy Shows Since the 2018-19 Season:

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