There was once a time when the Fall Premiere Week was a big one for the broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, The CW). Right about now is generally when they are rolling out their many new and returning shows to kick off the current season, and there are actually quite a number of Prime Time entries having their debuts now or within the next few weeks. But the scripted offerings continue to trend down, with reality, game shows, and sports taking over much of the schedule. There is also very little in the way of sci-fi and fantasy on the way over the next few months from the broadcast networks or any of the linear channels, for that matter.
Sunday brings the second season premiere of the animated fantasy comedy Krapopolis on FOX, and next month Superman & Lois returns for its fourth and final season on The CW, while the fourth season of Ghosts has its debut on CBS. And then that is it from the broadcasters as far as genre television goes—only three shows on the Fall schedule. There was once a time when The CW alone was premiering half a dozen sci-fi/fantasy entries or more each fall, and the other networks would offer a handful or so across their schedules as well. But now there is next to nothing, and Superman & Lois will be flying off the schedule following its shortened ten-episode fourth season, after being cut down by changes in network ownership (more on that at this link).
The cable networks don’t have much else to offer either, with only six shows currently on the schedule and a couple more possibly arriving in Fall. HBO’s The Penguin got started last weekend, as did the third season of From on MGM+. This week brings the premiere of the new Ryan Murphy series Grotesquerie along with the second season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. Next month, FX’s What We Do in the Shadows returns for its sixth and final season, and later in the fall, we will get Part 2 of the seventh season of Outlander (barely a genre entry) on Starz, as well as Dune: Prophecy on HBO. The second season of Mayfair Witches might arrive on AMC this fall as well, along with the third season of Syfy’s SurrealEstate. And that’s it for the linear networks.
The streaming services will be making up some of the slack, but the number of digital offerings is down this year as well (you can see a rundown of all the fall premieres at this link). Based on the current tally, 31 sci-fi and fantasy shows will have their premieres between August and December of this year, which is down from prior seasons. I do expect more 2024 premieres to be announced before the end of the year, but I am guessing that we will not catch up to prior seasons.
In the 2023-24 season, we saw 37 premieres for genre entries from August to December. Prior to that, in the 2022-23 season, the number was 50. In the 2021-22 season, the number was lower at 45, but the industry was still feeling the impact of COVID-related production delays, and that season made up for it to a degree with 12 premieres in January 2022.
Overall, the trend has been downward for sci-fi and fantasy shows going back to the Fall 2021, with the total number dropping each year, as you can see from the chart below. I don’t expect that to change in the post-Peak TV era, as linear and digital networks continue to try and keep costs down and remain cautious with their decisions related to original programming. And while this currently looks like a market correction, I would not rule out a complete bursting of the bubble, seeing as the streaming channels continue to report losses.
Of course, the drop in the number of original shows is not necessarily a bad thing. Looking at the last few years, there were 88 sci-fi and fantasy shows airing/streaming in the 2023-24 season, 100 the year before that, and 112 the year before that. Quite a lot of shows to keep up with, and not all of them are worth the time. So, as we see the number of genre originals decline, that could make the total more manageable (but no guarantees on the quality).
Sadly, the decline in numbers is driven in part by cancellations, and in some cases that includes fan-favorites and/or promising shows like Dead Boy Detectives, Scavengers Reign, Raised by Wolves, Star Trek: Prodigy, Evil, and more. Fewer projects will be going forward (even though the networks are constantly making development announcements), especially those that require higher budgets. Whether that will be better for sci-fi and fantasy television remains to be seen. But we are definitely experiencing a drop-off in the number of genre entries across the linear and digital networks, and that could continue for several more years.
Be sure to stay tuned to this site as we track the status of all the genre shows and keep an eye on the trends across the television landscape that could impact sci fi TV. You can see the rundown of the Fall 2024 genre shows at this link, and you can see the premiere dates for all the shows from August to December at this link.
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.
