Cancellation Watch: 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.
Status Updates
One Piece (Netflix, Streaming 1st Season, Renewal Possible): This live-action adaptation of the well-known Anime just kicked off its first season and it started out at Number 1 in the Netflix charts with 140 million hours viewed across 18.5 million accounts. Those are good numbers, but this show was very expensive to produce, reportedly costing $18 million per episode. The early buzz is good for the reboot, but it will likely need to have an extended run in the charts to get the greenlight for a second year considering how much money the streamer spent. It took a while for Netflix to announce second-season renewals for top-performing but costly shows like Wednesday and The Sandman, and I expect that will be the same with One Piece.
Twisted Metal (Peacock, Streaming 1st Season, Renewal Possible): The early word on this show was that the viewing numbers were good and Deadline previously reported that Nielsen logged it at 400 million minutes for its first week. Those must have been rough numbers, though, because the official tally for its first full week is 326 million minutes viewed and it scraped the bottom of the Nielsen Streaming Rankings at Number 10 for the week of July 31st. That counts as a decent start for a Peacock entry and this one could continue on to a second season.
What We Do in the Shadows (FX, Completed 5th Season, Renewed): This supernatural comedy wrapped up its fifth season last week, and even though its same-day ratings are down a little bit, it is still doing okay for a basic cable series these days. It likely makes up some slack with digital viewing on Hulu and it was already renewed for a sixth season before its fifth year started. Don’t be surprised if a final season announcement comes at some point, but it should at least have the opportunity to go out on its own terms.
Cancellation/Renewal Score:
There were no cancellation or renewal announcements this past week, so the score for the now completed 2022-23 season stands at 41 cancelled and ending sci fi and fantasy shows (47% of shows tracked) vs. 39 renewed (45%). Below are the 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 | 87 | ||
| Cancelled | 22 | 25.3% | |
| Ending | 19 | 21.8% | 47.1% |
| Renewed | 39 | 44.8% | |
| On the Bubble | 3 | 3.4% | |
| Renewal Possible | 4 | 4.6% | |
| Mini-Series | 3 |
Be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates. And for the latest news and discussions on sci fi and fantasy television, follow r/SciFiTV
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.
